Motherly Affection
by EMT0
Summary: What if Marianne had managed to usher Nunnally up the staircase before she was killed? How drastically could the fate of one little girl change the world as we know it? With his sister safe, how will Lelouch react to his mother's death? And what will happen to Japan? To the world as a whole? Watch Lelouch and Co rise as they change the world. Lelouch/Harem, tasteful Harem.
1. Prologue, or Chapter 1: A Gut Feeling

**Prologue/Chapter I: A Gut Feeling**

"Nunnally, come on!"

Marianne couldn't help but chuckle at Lelouch's enthusiasm. Even after having toured the gardens, eaten dinner, and spent the afternoon playing with his sisters, her little prince remained as energetic as ever when it came to his little sister. She was truly the apple of his eye.

Marianne could feel her daughter squirm a bit, trying to shrug her hand off of her shoulder so as to join her brother in whatever endeavor had taken his fancy. The devotion between siblings was both palpable and unshakeable, and she couldn't be happier with her children. It was a shame today would be parting day, and the end of their little family. Marianne silently suppressed a sigh, wondering when exactly her warrior spirit had deserted her.

All day now, she had felt hostile gazes on her, waiting for the moment that would enable a clean shot and easy getaway. There was no point in trying to evade the inevitable; her darling Charles, bless his soul, would never cast doubt on his beloved older brother. For who else would have the gall to assassinate Marianne the Flash, Knight of Two, Fifth Consort of the Holy Britannian Empire in her own home? Aries Villa could rival a small fort in terms of security; the only people who would dare attempt to do so would be Charles himself, and V.V., jealous little bastard that he was.

Charles would never have her assassinated. She was his sword, shield, anchor, and compass. And he also loved her. Above and beyond all other consorts, she was his true love; he would throw away all of his other wives in a heartbeat for her. As his sword, she had helped him gain the throne. As his shield, she had served as his Knight, never allowing a threat to come anywhere near her love. As his anchor, she kept him focused on their ultimate goal whenever he felt doubt or hesitation. As his compass, she ensured that north would always lead to their goal; and nothing, not even her beloved children, would come between that. For Charles, she would give her very soul to the devil. Charles was her world…and nothing would keep them apart. Ragnarok would succeed, and they would be together…forever, in a world without lies.

_V.V. you lying conniving scum, what happened to the dream you and Charles shared? It is YOU who has betrayed the ideals of Ragnarok, of a better world. And yet it is I who must pay the ultimate price for the same treachery you reject. And to what ends? You know not what you provoke by earning Charles' hate._

Nunnally was tugging on her hand a little more insistently. She was even using her beautiful puppy eyes to try and convince her. _The same beautiful violet eyes as Charles…._

She really shouldn't let her go; the last few months had been spent trying to teach her baby girl the etiquette of royalty. While Marianne was now a picture of regal perfection, she couldn't but inwardly cringe at the beginning of Charles' reign, when she had been a soldier elevated to the position of 5th Consort of the largest empire the world had ever known. To say she hadn't been ready for it was to say that Jeremiah Gottwald was a bit enthusiastic when it came to guarding Marianne the Flash. He had even refused the order to leave with the rest of the guard, having insisted that he personally guard the entrance to the Villa.

A pity she couldn't have him promoted for his actions. Not after today.

_So many faux pas….so many angry nobles, and so many ruined carpets, heels, dresses, banquets, balls, and weddings. I don't think Carine's mother ever forgave me for ruining her wedding to Charles. Then again, it's not like she ever DIDN'T hate me._ Ruben Ashford couldn't look at her in the face for weeks after the wedding stunt.

So when her daughter had proven to be her virtual mini-me in all but appearance, panic alarms had set off in Marianne's head, and so the etiquette lessons had begun. Nunnally, quite frankly, hated them. Every minute that was spent trying to learn how to walk, talk, and act like nobility was a minute that could have been spent with her brother, or with any of their other siblings that visited regularly. Of them, Clovis and Euphemia were her favorites. Clovis played with her and showed her how to paint(albeit with fingers) while Euphemia was her best friend(outside of her brother, of course) and the two of them, in addition to Lelouch, tended to spend their days together at almost all times.

_The Royal Threesome indeed!_ Marianne couldn't help but snicker at that thought. She had coined the term when she had caught the two arguing over who would marry Lelouch, to his embarrassment. She had to give Cornelia credit for not even batting an eye when she whispered it to her and started giggling madly. Naturally, the term had flown right over the heads of the 3 youths, and she was already saddened that she wouldn't get the opportunity to tease them throughout puberty. Evil cackles echoed through her head as the ideas zipped past her, each more diabolical than the last. If they didn't hate her by the time they would have been married, she would have been greatly disappointed, because she must have simply not been trying hard enough- 'Or I'm already too decayed to hate,' spoke her treacherous mind.

Oh yes, there was also that little plan that would likely go down the rabbit hole. Without her careful manipulation, Lelouch and Nunnally would never develop into a couple, and would never give her a grandchild to be the bearer of V.V's Code. While she couldn't bear the thought of forcing her children to suffer as C.C. had, a grandchild? Yes, that was far enough removed from her that she wouldn't feel terribly guilty, and in a perfect position to be raised into being the perfect Code bearer; after having experimented with her Geass, she had found Nunnally and Lelouch to be incredibly receptive to the powers of Geass. She could only imagine how powerful their union would be, holding both Code AND Geass, and above all, raised to be loyal to Charles and Charles alone. The Knight of Ragnarok, enforcer and defender of the Sword of Akasha.

Oh so many plans would be washed down the drain with her death. Lelouch wouldn't hold the title of 99th Emperor as Charles destroyed the gods. Her beautiful children would never give her beautiful grandchildren to join and usurp the Geass Directorate. Nunnally would never get to prove that she was the second coming of Marianne the Flash and conquer the rest of the world not labeled Britannia. In all likelihood, Nunnally wouldn't even make it out of this aliv-No. She refused to accept that. While she may have already surrendered the possibility of her getting out of this alive, this didn't mean she wouldn't do her damndest to ensure her daughter got off unscathed. She could feel her stomach turning, and her blood pumping for the first time since she saw combat all those years ago.

Just this once, she would be selfish. Just this once, she would put her children before anything else, even Ragnarok, even Charles. For this moment, the sanity that had left Marianne long ago due to Geass returned to her, for just a little bit. Just long enough for her to realize what had to be done instead of letting her daughter be a sacrificial lamb.

Turning to her daughter, she smiled and patted her on her back. "Off you go sweetie, hurry after your brother. We know he's waiting for you, and heaven knows he hates being kept from you."

With a bright smile, Nunnally quickly dashed as quickly as her little legs could carry her up the grand staircase. It wasn't every day that she was given permission to run willy-nilly around Aries Villa. Marianne watched her go with a heavy heart, knowing that this was most likely it. Her sixth sense had been tingling all day, and now, it was getting stronger. Nunnally was almost halfway up the staircase with Lelouch looking on expectantly with a serene smile. She only wished she could hold her children one last time and tell them goodbye, but that was beyond foolish. Lelouch, bless his little heart, was too damn smart. If she bid them farewell, then he would immediately know something was up. With her dead, the only possible person he could turn to for answers was Charles. And while she loved her children, Marianne never even pretended that Charles loved or cared for any of his children. The results of confronting his father could only be disastrous.

With a melancholic smile, she watched her daughter run. Her sixth sense was driving her mad at this point. Nunnally had reached the top. To the right of the staircase, she could see little Anya Alstreim coming in from the door to the right. Good, her daughter's newest friend wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.

_In fact…_

Gunshots were fired. A window shattered and blood was splattered. Cries were head as one of the most striking women in Imperial history slowly toppled to her knees, and then finally, fell forward, a sad little smile on her face as she looked directly into the eyes of Anya Alstreim as her eyes rapidly lost their luster.

_Farewell, my children. Farewell, my love. May we meet in person once again in a better world_

As her soul left her body, the first and only thing Marianne saw through Anya Alstreim's eyes before unconsciousness claimed her was the horrified visage of her children as Jeremiah desperately tried to stop them from rushing to her now cooling corpse.

* * *

AN:

This is both my first fic, and also my first adventure in trying to establish what I'd have liked Code Geass to be. Expect it to be a bit more lighthearted, a lot more suggestive, and to have no bashing.

No promises on update times, but I'm not going to lie; looking at it from the viewpoint of a writer and not a reader, reviews would greatly help to motivate me.

As for a pairing, I think I've implied pretty well what I'm aiming for here. Lelouch/Harem, but a tasteful harem. If they're with Lelouch, there's a reason for it, so long as I can spin it, and spin it well without bringing down the quality of the story.

As to why imply that Nunnally and Lelouch were going to be paired up by Marianne, there's actually precedence for this, believe it or not. It's apparently present in one of the short novels that was released in Japan, as well as Marianne experimenting with her Geass, as well as her being driven insane by said Geass. Check the Code Geass wiki if you're not buying it.


	2. Chapter 2: The Heart Of The Matter

**Chapter 2: The Heart of the Matter**

To have one's world shatter is a phenomenon that few can attest to. To feel your spirits crushed, your hope buried, your happiness soured, and your despair all powerful. That is the best way to describe Lelouch vi Britannia as he watched Marianne Vi Britannia, the 5th Imperial Consort, Marianne the Flash, but above all else, his beloved mother, fall not 50 feet from him to a hail of bullets. His skin was pale, eyes wide and disbelieving, and tears were quickly gathering, glazing over his eyes and steadily flooding down the sides of his face as he stood in disbelief, with despair quickly overcoming his body and bringing him to his knees.

He was vaguely aware of his sister's anguished cries as she sobbed uncontrollably, trying to push past the faceless guard holding them back. With nary a reaction, he realized that he, too, was being held back by the blue-haired guard, who's ashen face and disbelieving expression was an almost perfect mirror of his own face. Lelouch realized that unconsciously, his body had been slowly trying to push past the guard, as if to prove to himself with his very own eyes that his mother had perished.

It was only after slowly turning to look at his sister once more that the full weight of what happened hit him. Or worse, what almost happened. For while his mother was dead, his sister was still _alive_. She had been right next to his mother, just before the shooting, when she had been told to go and play with him. _Play._ It was such an alien word to the young boy at the moment, who was witnessing far more than a boy should have ever had to. As he and his sister had decided to go off and _play_, his mother had been brutally gunned down in cold blood inside of their home.

Lelouch's gut twisted at the realization that it should have been impossible for this to happen. Even at ten years of age, he was well aware of what it meant to be Britannian royalty. Aries Villa should have been nigh impenetrable, and yet the unimaginable had become all too horrifyingly real. _Where were the guards? How could this have happened? _Lelouch's mind raced with unanswerable questions, but he couldn't bring himself to feel angry. He could only feel sorrow, and the tiniest sliver of relief, that his sister hadn't shared a similar fate as his mother. His eyes widened as he realized that the only thing that had saved his dear sister from sharing his mother's gruesome fate was sheer luck. It was unacceptable to the proud young boy for whom logic and reason were everything. _It can't ever happen again. No one will ever get the chance. I'll die before I let something happen to her._

In his silent self-reflecting anguish, he had ceased to truly see what was in front of him, only seeing scenarios, horrible scenarios, of what could have been had his mother not acted. It was only with a slight push from the same blue-haired guard that had been holding him back that he realized that he and Nunnally were being led to his chambers. He was silent, the haunted look in his eye firmly in place with tears still silently trailing, as he reached for his sister's hand and squeezed it softly, trying to reassure her, and failing miserably as she continued to sob uncontrollably. His own eyes continued to silently leak tears as he followed the man.

It was only when he realized that his mother's murderers were still at large that he immediately flung himself away from the guard and pushed his sister behind him.

"How do I know…how do I know that you're not going to finish what was started downstairs?" whispered Lelouch in a dead, flat voice. In spite of his defeated and sad tone, his eyes shone vividly as he stared down the man. It was the look of a desperate man who had nothing to lose, of a cornered animal, and it crushed Jeremiah to see it on his young liege's face. Nunnally's cries ceased temporarily as she too listened, scared and confused as to what was going on.

"My Lord, "whispered the blue-haired guard as he knelt and lowered his head, making sure to look his liege in the eyes to prove his intent. "I am Jeremiah Gottwald. I have served Her Majesty for almost a year now, and in this time, I have never betrayed her or her children. I have not spoken a word of my service to another. I have resided in the guard's dorms the entire time, and I have only left twice, for Christmas and the Founding Festival, in that time. I swear to you on my family name, my personal honor, and my admiration for Lady Marianne that I would never have conspired against her." Here Jeremiah screwed his eyes shut in pain, "I cannot prove to you that I was not involved, for I too do not trust anybody in the Aries Villa. However, until the culprit or culprits are captured, I refuse to leave your sight. If they are still at large, then it will be I who will catch bullets for you with my body as your shield. Please, my Lord. Let me protect you, let me amend for not being there to protect Lady Marianne." A lone tear slowly fell and ran down the bridge of his nose, making a soft splash as it hit the marble floor.

Lelouch could only stare. The man's devotion and sincerity had shaken him, and his early standoffish glare had softly melted. He could truly see the man's sincerity and self-disgust for his own failures, and grief temporarily set aside, slowly reached out to place his hand on the man's shoulder.

"…I believe you. Please lead the way." In spite of all that had happened, Lelouch could not bring himself to be suspicious of the man. Not when he had bared himself to him and revealed everything he could to convince the young prince of his sincerity. Lelouch's stomach, almost unnoticeably, unclenched slightly from the knot of sheer tension it had been moments before.

"Yes, my lord," whispered a still downtrodden Jeremiah. Reaching inside of his coat pocket, he extracted a handgun and ensured it was loaded as he led the way to his young charge's chambers. The walk there was long and arduous for Lelouch. Every step was heavy and only served to give him time to reflect, not only on his mother's death, but all the good times that had been had at Aries Villa, that would never happen again. As they approached his quarters, they found two men guarding the door. The two tensed slightly as Jeremiah approached, but relaxed upon seeing the remaining Vi Britannias approaching. With a slight salute, they parted, allowing the three access inside.

Jeremiah asked the two siblings to go into the bathroom one at a time and to change into their pajamas. He, meanwhile, took a chair and dragged it to the corner of the room, ensuring he had a perfect view of the room's openings. Lelouch changed quickly, but Nunnally took her time. It was obvious, from the soft sobs that could be heard from the other side of the door, that she could barely function at the moment. Lelouch, at least, was slightly older. She was a seven-year old girl and had just had most of her perceptions shattered; it was only understandable, and Lelouch was anxious to be near her again. He truly did not feel comfortable _not_ having Nunnally within his sights. Not when his mother had been gunned down when he wasn't looking. Not after almost having lost his sister too.

As the young girl stepped out in her pajamas, Lelouch moved to softly embrace her. His own eyes were buried in her light brown hair, desperately trying to not break down as he held her for the first time since the shooting. His sister held no such distinctions, and proceeded to begin soaking his night shirt, as he slowly guided them towards his bed. Pulling the covers up, he gently helped her into the bed as he scooted in after her. Squeezing him for dear life, little Nunnally cried gently into his shirt as he held her in his arms, wishing for all the world that he could go back in time and stop the madness that had shattered his peaceful existence. Slowly, thin droplets made their way down his face and into his sister's hair as they settled into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Several miles away, Charles watched the slowly retreating back of his elder brother, no, the _monster_ that had slayed his beloved. It was with a low and quiet sigh that he resigned himself to the fact that his wife, his partner, and all the aspects of her that he had come to rely upon were gone until Ragnarok was completed. Folding his hands on his desk, he began the tiresome, miserable task of changing and revising plans that had relied on his wife's continued existence in the mortal plane. No one would ever see or believe the slight glistening visible in the Emperor's eyes as he sat and plotted the night away with naught but a bottle of Britannia's finest and the ring on his finger; the only wedding band he had worn beyond the wedding.

* * *

Lelouch woke slowly and uneasily as a light sunshine hit his eyes. Jeremiah unconsciously shifted as his liege awoke. He had spent the entire night awake, gladly, but his exhaustion was plain on his face. As Lelouch opened his eyes, he could feel his sister hugging onto him tightly, and slowly but surely, last night's events sank once more into the forefront of his head. A slight scowl slowly shifted his way onto his face, his displeasure and anger apparent for all the world(meaning Jeremiah) to see.

Shifting his head slightly in Jeremiah's direction, he asked, "What time is it?"

"It is 5 in the morning, my Lord. You fell asleep at 8 yesterday evening and I have been here guarding you the entire time. No disturbances occurred."

"Good," said the Prince with a slight inclination of his head. "I haven't missed the fireworks quite yet."

"My Lord?"

"It is obvious that my mother's death will not simply be a quiet affair. Not when the Emperor will strike and rain fire and hell on whoever killed his favorite consort," whispered Lelouch as he reflected on past events of the night before. His eyes were quickly becoming blurry at his thoughts as he looked down at his sheets. It honestly surprised him that he had yet to be ushered into a military bunker under the palace. His father must truly be preoccupied finding the murderers.

The prince was shocked out of his reverie by a loud noise outside of the room. Tensing quickly, Jeremiah quickly stood before the door with the gun aimed at head level, waiting for the inevitable. Lelouch felt his stomach tighten. _So they are still here._ Slowly nudging Nunnally until her eyes opened, he kept his gaze locked on the door and proceeded to scoot forward, blocking her body from the path of the door.

A loud, feminine voice could be heard shouting and the sounds of metal meeting flesh thumped loudly through the door. Lelouch tensed and with shaking hand, reached back to grasp his sister's. With a thunderous _crack_, the door splintered as a heeled boot could be seen smashing through, a gun at the ready. Jeremiah tensed, preparing himself to loosen a flurry of bullets, but quickly lowered his handgun upon seeing a distinctive, if slightly frizzled mane of purple hair. Cornelia Li Britannia stood at full ready, gun aimed directly at Jeremiah, eyes full of rage and glistening with moisture and a burning determination.

"Gottwald, I'm only going to ask this once before I put a bullet through your head. Where. Are. My. SIBLINGS."

Knowing full well that it was not a question, he lowered his head and gun, and with a meek expression, stepped out of the path of the raging princess. Lowering her gun slightly, but still tense, she quickly approached her two siblings. Lelouch was tense and ready to bolt. He KNEW Cornelia was the head of his mother's guard. She'd have to have conspired with the murderers. It was the only way that they could have had access to the Villa. He would not go down without a fight, ten year old boy or not.

So when Cornelia knelt down next to the bed, swept them both into a firm embrace, and began to gently cry into the mish-mash of siblings, Lelouch couldn't help but feel relief, albeit a bit exasperated as well. Again, his suspicions were unfounded. And yet again, logic and reason were failing him. But none of that mattered. If Cornelia wanted them dead, Gottwald would be in a puddle of blood right now, and the last thing she would be doing was to cry her heart out and whisper her relief in between shudders. Yes, this was the girl who had been one of his role models when he was younger. It was the sister who had dunked him in the pond when he placed a frog on Euphie's head. It was the sister who had alternated with Clovis and Schneizel in reading to him and his younger siblings when they were too little to read. Yet again, the tension within Lelouch eased just a little bit more at the feel of his sibling's body snug against his, seeking to give and seek comfort for their sorrows. His tears once again began falling at the sheer relief he felt about being able to trust in one of his closest siblings, but he continued to not make a sound.

After regaining enough of her senses, Cornelia slowly, but gently released her two siblings. "…How are you feeling?" she asked.

"You know the answer to that, sister. The more important question is, what is Father doing about this?" muttered a slightly more reserved boy than he had been mere seconds ago. Comfort could only shield the hurt for so long before the boy's icy façade returned to cover up the hurt in his heart.

Cornelia looked uncertain and tensed slightly at the question. Giving her a questioning glance, she finally relented. "Father is…Father announced the death of Lady Marianne yesterday evening, saying she was killed by terrorists and that the utmost would be done to bring her killers to justice. However…I haven't actually seen or heard of any efforts being organized. It's almost, almost as if…"

"As if Father himself is trying to hush up the incident," whispered the boy, a look of defeat and anger on his face, angry tears beginning to trickle once more. "His favorite wife, his knight, and he can't even be bothered to send a meager expeditionary team to track the killers down…"

Nunnally tightened her hold on her brother a bit. His expression was haunted, and she couldn't bear to see him so miserable. "Brother…" Whispered his equally miserable sibling. She could feel the telltale prickling sensations in her eyes that indicated the formation of tears as she thought once more of what she had seen yesterday. But for just a little bit longer, she would hold them back. Her brother needed her now.

Cornelia sighed. "It would appear to be so. I have ordered the guards to go on lockdown and have commandeered some MI-6 agents that I graduated from the military academy with to come and personally interrogate each and every member of the staff. The Villa is locked down, and for all intents and purposes, the Villa is a dead zone. If the murderers are still here, then they will be found."

She continued as Lelouch continued to absorb everything she was saying, mind racing to consider all possibilities. "Euphemia heard the news. She fought me every step of the way out of our home, demanding that I bring her to you and Nunnally. While I would never agree to her original idea, she did propose something that I hope you will agree with."

Looking up, Lelouch looked on expectantly, but with a clouded gaze, mind still thinking about who could have organized her murder. "Euphemia asked that I bring you and Nunnally to our home while the investigation is carried out. Her exact words were, 'Lulu and Nunna can't be left there all alone! They need us!' However, if you don't feel comfortable leaving this room, I'd completely understa-"

"No. We will go with you, sister. This home…this place can no longer be called home. Not with our mother dead. Home is where the heart is, and the only family we have left is you," whispered the boy in a defeated tone.

Eyebrow twitching unconsciously at her rude little brother for cutting her off, she nodded and called Gottwald over. "Prepare the two for travel, and help them ready any luggage they need. I'll be relaying this to my personal driver; we leave in an hour. You're coming with us, as soon as my interrogator is done with you."

_Cornelia Li Britannia is, by far, the most terrifying 16-year old I have ever met,_ thought Jeremiah as he bowed quickly and proceeded to stand guard at the door once more.

Turning around as she walked down the hall, Cornelia let loose one last order. "Oh. And call for someone to move these two bodies out of the doorway. No, don't give me that look, they're not dead. They're only unconscious."

* * *

It was a much more subdued trio(and Jeremiah) that awaited Cornelia's personal limousine. Lelouch held his sister's hand tightly as she looked back, glancing at the place they had once called home. He couldn't stomach the thought of remaining there. All those happy memories, all of the mischief and delights that had gone on in Aries Villa. It would never be the same again, for when he had stepped out onto the staircase, his mind had replayed the horrible events of the night prior. He felt his sister shiver and try to worm her way closer into his arm. All of those happy memories would be tainted and corrupted by the overwhelming sensations he would experience whenever he would see that damned staircase, his mother's blood there for all to see.

Ending that miserable line of thought, Lelouch looked at the exterior of the Villa. Every guard in the Villa was armed and the entire staff, from the chef, to the gardeners, to the maids, where waiting outside the Villa in a single-file line. They were being interrogated, one by one, by Cornelia's 'friends'. The guards would follow next, but Lelouch already saw the futility of the investigation. It was readily apparent that no one in the Villa had assassinated his mother; they had no reason to. Every worker there had been loyal and devoted to Marianne and her children; she had personally interviewed each and every one. Furthermore, the bullets had come from outside, and every single staff member had already been inside by dusk. That only left the guards, and if his suspicions were correct, none of them would be found guilty either, considering that they had all been dismissed for the day. That only left the possibility of it being an intruder.

But who could have done it? He knew that the vi Britannia line was loathed by many nobles and most of the consorts pretended that Marianne vi Britannia and her children had never existed. It HAD to be one of them. No foreigner would attempt to pull off an assassination of Marianne the Flash in the capital of the Empire; foreigners weren't permitted in the capital, period. The murder was too well thought and funded to be a random criminal; it was a planned assassination, and the only ones with the capacity were the nobles. He immediately discounted the Ashfords from the list of potential killers; their rise and success was so heavily tied to Marianne the Flash that her death would almost be as crippling and sad for them as it had been for Marianne's two young children. Ruben Ashford was the grandfather he never had, having had his paternal grandfather killed at the hands of his father, his maternal grandmother assassinated when his Father had been a child, and his maternal grandparents had died, peacefully retired in Area 7(Hawaii).

Lelouch slowly turned his gaze to his older sibling. "Sister, how has the rest of the royal family reacted?" Cornelia grimaced at the question; she knew full well what Lelouch wanted to know. "Many have offered quite condolences to Father. Clovis made me swear to keep him informed on what happened, and has said he'll meet us at my home. Schneizel, as Prime Minister, has been organizing his own private investigation, but isn't too hopeful in receiving any conclusive evidence. He has pledged to support you and Nunnally, however. You know that you are Schneizel's favorite brother, despite the age difference."

After saying this, she released an uncharacteristically loud sigh as she continued. "However, many nobles were quite gleeful to hear of your mother's demise, albeit not openly. Lord Lordstrom in particular was quite not-so-discrete about his elation, and I've had one of my contacts investigating him." _Ah, yes_, Lelouch thought grimly. Lord Elijah Lordstrom, leader of the Pureblood Faction in mainland Britannia, and most infamously, Marianne's biggest opponent in royal court. He had long opposed the ascension of Marianne the Flash in everything she had done, even in her joining the Knights of the Round. He topped the list of suspects involved. Not only was he a prominent noble, he was a wealthy, snobbish, hostile noble. Part of his snobbishness was born in the tales of his being the purest descendant of the Viking Emperor Cnut The Great.

Danish by birth, Cnut conquered most of Britannia and married the eldest daughter of the defeated Britannian monarch at the time and proclaimed himself Emperor of Britannia. This resulted in the rest of Britannia submitting to Cnut's rule. Britannia, however, was so much wealthier than Denmark-Norway had ever been, and as a result, much like the Ptolemic Dynasty of Egypt, was assimilated into the local populace and ruled not as a foreign warlord, but as the Emperor of Britannians. After solidifying his rule, he then proceeded to subjugate the remainder of Scandinavia and is also accredited for launching the Vinland expedition. His death in 1089 a.t.b. saw the height of Britannian possessions in Europe outside of Britain proper, with full control of Scandinavia and the British Isles, albeit these areas would eventually be lost, first in the Norman conquest of England, and later in subsequent wars. It is due to Cnut that people of Scandinavian descent were allowed to immigrate to Britannia from that point onwards, and he is also credited, much like Henry the Navigator of Portugal, as the founder of Britannia's maritime traditions. 10 years after his death, the first Britannian outpost in the New World would be established by a mixed Britannian-Scandinavian party.

_All perfectly memorized and recited from 'A History of Britannia, 15__th__ Edition_, thought the young prince. It was the great irony of Britannia; the leader of the Purists, descended from foreigners. Britannians? Made up Celts, Romans, Scandinavians, Germanics, Picts, Gauls, and yes, even the all hated French. That didn't even include the Britannians of African blood that had been given full citizenship for being pivotal in suppressing Washington's rebellion. That wasn't to say all Africans in the South and the Caribbean were enfranchised citizens, though. _The South has far more non-Britannians by citizenship than Mexico, and_ _even _Mexico_ is an Area, _thought Lelouch sardonically.

_The truth of the matter is, that Britannians as a whole are neither a race nor a nation, which makes Father's adoption of Social Darwinism ever since he ascended the throne questionable. Take Mexico. Mexico City fell to Britannian rule when the Spanish Armada fell, and the Britannian Armada completely decimated the remnants of Spain's navy. Due to the destruction of its navy, Spain was forced to cede the Caribbean and the Viceroyalty of New Spain, renamed Mexico, to Britannia in 1644 a.t.b. The truth of the matter is the only reason Britannia did not take the rest of the New World from Spain was because it would overextend Britannia. _

_Back at the issue at hand, Mexico was simply too big and too wealthy to be completely subjugated. Both Spaniard and Native opposed Britannian rule, and there was a legitimate risk that Mexico would declare its independence when Britannia failed to subjugate the countryside and could only hold on to Mexico City and Veracruz at one point. As a result, Britannia called for a parlay. The agreed deal was that the Viceroyalty of Mexico would formally be in personal union with Britannia and be elevated to the status of Kingdom, but de facto be a part of the Britannian Empire. In exchange, the Spanish aristocracy received Britannian citizenship, at the cost of Anglicizing their names. The freedoms and privileges that came with being a Britannian citizen were great enough that none of them refused. The offer was made available to other Spaniards throughout Britannia's new conquests, and the results were similar. The offer was even extended to a select few Natives who could trace their nobility back to the times of Montezuma. As a result, Britannian rule was entrenched in North America; the only opposition remaining was France and the Dutch in New Netherlands(New York). _

_What is the point of all this? Simply, that as a result of Mexico's great promises of wealth, many colonists that came to the New World simply used the 13 colonies, Britannia's original settlements, as a springboard between Britain proper and Mexico. Many settled in Britannia's newest conquered lands, and as a result, Mexico was gradually, but slowly, Anglicized. The great irony of the situation is that the Natives, the original conquered, took to Spanish as their language of choice and refused to work with Britannia. Intermixing of blood, resulting in Mixed children, also resulted in the carrying on of Spanish in Mexico, despite their being Britannian citizens. As a result, today, Area 2, Mexico, composes of the regions of the former Viceroyalty of Mexico that retained a heavy concentration of Natives, such as the Mexican Highlands and the Yucatan peninsula. While 85% of the populace is a Britannian citizen, half of the total populace continues to speak Spanish at home, and 40% of the populace is of Mixed blood. Due to Britannia's Social Darwinist policies, Natives were assigned the denominator '2s' instead of Nahua, or Mayan, and the Mixed population is treated as second-class citizens. _

_Since the ascension of Charles zi Britannia to the throne, Mexico overnight almost went from being a cornerstones, a foundation of the Empire, to being relegated to an Area, relieved of all of its past prestige and grandeur, in spite of it being one of the economic hearts of the Empire. The reason Pendragon was founded in hot and dry Texas, after all, was because it was seen as a median point between the colonies of the East Coast and Mexico. And now…now, it was nothing but another Area. And do the nobility of Mexico, whose land and blood is shared with the inhabitants now being downtrodden, care? Of course not; for they are nobles, naturally above the presence of mere numbers or commoners._

Lelouch sighed at his internal monologue. Since he was 8, he had been questioning Social Darwinism. Ever since he had learned of Britannia's past actions, and of the origins of his mother's maiden name. Lamperouge was hardly a Anglo-Saxon name, after all. It only made him question his father more. _Why, why would he consciously enforce segregation on what had once been unquestionably Britannia? He had created problems that had been near unexistent before; had Britannia followed past policies, all of the New World would be loyally and firmly Britannian. But now? No; now Britannia faced insurrection at home and the loss of manpower that would have been instrumental in settling new parts of the world with loyal Britannians. It's almost as if he WANTS to prolong the wars and conflicts…but why?_

Lelouch was awoken from his thoughts and back to the real world abruptly as the limousine came to a stop. With a start, he realized that he had been ushered into the vehicle quite a while ago, and had never even noticed. Blushing slightly and glad that neither of his sisters or his guard had noticed his distraction, he looked out the window. Pink hair could be seen at a distance, and rapidly incoming. With a small smile, he let loose a near inaudible sigh and stepped out of the vehicle. The pink missile was closer. Much closer.

Lelouch braced himself. The pink missile was, in the past, known to be ruthless in seeking what it wanted to hit. When it locked on, it never lost its target, always ensuring a solid collision. Lelouch, long having experienced trying to defy the missile's targeting systems, simply sighed. He had long ago given up trying to evade the missile. Hell, he even welcomed it. The missile's sweet embrace could only relieve of him of his recent suffering, after all. Standing up straight and looking the missile head on, he readied himself, ready to face what all men must inevitably face. Certain death.

"LUUUULUUUUUU!"

Yep. Certain death by pink-haired torture.

With a loud thump, Lelouch could feel the pink missile collide against him and knock him backwards, knocking the air from his lungs. Grabbing the missile firmly, he dug his head into the missile's hair, uncaring that he found himself on the ground with a sobbing princess on top of him, and whispered shakily, "It's good to see you too, Euphie."

At last, he could let his anguish loose. He couldn't afford to lose himself in front of Nunnally before. But now that they were safe? No, now all restrictions were gone, and Lelouch let himself sob loudly and unabashedly in his sister's warm embrace.

* * *

AN: So ends Chapter 2. I took my reader's advice to heart and made sure to make this chapter longer. I was also inspired to add more detail to Britannia's history and adding the first bits of comedic relief to my story. While not a crackfic, it certainly will have its own fair share of humor.

Now to answer my reviewer's questions:

-Yes, Marianne really is depraved. I like her well enough, but there's no denying that she's bonkers. As for pairing Nunnally with Lelouch, I'm still rather ambivalent on that. In all likelihood, the answer will be a resounding yes, it will probably happen.

-Will Lelouch stay in Britannia? Yes and no.

Lelouch will be going to Japan, and soon. HOWEVER, he won't be cut off entirely from the Imperial family, and he will have far more allies within Britannia than he did in the anime. He will also be playing the game of nobles soon enough; Lelouch, while in Japan, will operate as though he were still in Britannia, sort of. I honestly think I can make everyone happy with what I'm planning, so have some faith here. Expect to see a lot of the Royal Family.

-You can also see me going into the history of Britannia here; I'm a history nerd, so I greatly enjoy thinking about what led to the world at the start of the show. Think about it; Britannia couldn't possibly suppress all of the New World then go a-conquering the rest of it, no matter how much manpower it has. That, and the areas are really artificial. For example; what marks the difference between Mexico and Britannia in Code Geass? As far as we know, nothing, so I decided to better define it. Having Canada be an area makes no sense either. Quebec on the other hand? Sure does.

You'll see me go into a Code Geass history lesson every once in a while; and I promise you, they DO have implications on the morality and ethics of many of the characters in the Geass universe.

-Finally, this update really should have been a part of Chapter 1, but I wanted to do two things. 1. Establish a solid prologue, and break up the point of divergence and the main story, and 2. Get out something yesterday.

Not having his sister crippled and having Jeremiah immediately at hand will have VERY far-reaching consequences, so I hope you're all eager. Next time, we'll see Lelouch face the Emperor; don't expect it to be anything like it was in canon either.

Thanks again for reading, and if you liked it, drop a review! Tell me what you want to see! INSPIRE me!

AN2: Did some minor grammar fixes, a bit of formatting, and added a bit more detail into Lelouch's grief; the reviewers were right, he was way too blasé with what had happened.


	3. Chapter 3: The End Of The vi Britannia

**Chapter 3: The End Of The vi Britannia**

_2 Months Later_

Lelouch quietly sat at his desk, contemplating what he was about to do. Dressed in his finest Imperial regalia, he sat in his thinking pose as he awaited his older siblings, contemplating what he hoped to achieve. The room he currently found himself in was spacious and well-outfitted; as would be expected of the luxurious Libra Palace, home of the li Britannia sisters and their mother, Celeste li Britannia. He was thankful that contact with his half-sisters' mother had been limited; while she had not been hostile to Marianne, she greatly resented the fact that she was Charles' favorite consort and had been content to leave him and his sister well enough alone with her daughters. Outside of polite conversation when passing in the halls and during dinner, he and Nunnally didn't exist to the woman and Lelouch was only too glad to return the cool, yet polite indifference so characteristic of a noble.

The room was large, spacious, and had walls and made of oak and a marble ceiling and floor. A luxurious bed was located in the center of the room, with a dresser on either side of the bed against the walls. The clothes Nunnally and Lelouch had brought with them from the Villa had been stored there, and evidence of the siblings' residence could be found throughout. A comb with light brown hair on it was on top of one of the dressers. A young boy's coat could be found on one of the chairs. A book lay open on the bed, abandoned by Nunnally in favor of sleep yesterday night. In front of the bed was a television placed on an ornate cabinet with a coffee table and two couches on opposite sides perpendicular to the screen. On top of the coffee table laid a finely crafted chess set made in 11th century India, a present from Schneizel for Lelouch's 8th birthday. And in the corner, was a mahogany desk.

Said desk the young prince found himself at was very large, and completely covered by small, organized stacks of papers, as well as a picture of his late mother and his sister posing in front of the gardens at Aries Villa. In one of the piles was information on various nobles in positions of power within Pendragon; notably on top was the portfolio of Elijah Lordstrom, Duke of Labrador. In another pile was a collection of small, scribbled writing, crossed out sentences, and small doodles. Lelouch had been busy the last two months, and with the aid of Jeremiah, had managed to acquire information on the upper crust of Britannian politics and had made plans to the safety of both him and his sister; so long as his mother's murderer walked free, he would feel the weight her death had left upon his soul.

While Lelouch had not been completely ignorant to the dealings of nobles, it was only after having dived in and researched them that he realized how…_influential_ certain blocs and individuals were. It was a sobering thought for the young boy, who 6 months ago, wouldn't have been able to recite anything about the Purist Faction other than its leader and its general interests due to having heard side comments from his mother in passing about them. Now however, Lelouch was well aware of how deep the Purist Faction was ingrained in Britannian politics.

Despite being a far-right bloc, the Purists were the leaders of a coalition with the Moderate due to the views of Emperor Charles. At the death of the Emperor's father, Britannia had been more-or-less moderate, but upon his ascension and his emphasis on Social Darwinism, the scales had shifted. The Liberal faction was side-lined due to their policies being in direct contrast with Emperor's; while they wanted business regulations and a fixed minimum wage, the Emperor was fully behind the strong-eat-weak world of laissez faire economics, with the state kept out of the economy save for the armaments industry, the military, and the bureaucracy. The Liberals had supported an expansion of rights and a much more limited use of the Area system reserved exclusively for conquered territories, while the Emperor saw fit to impose the Area system on just about every piece of land Britannia owned that held any non-Britannians. The dynamics between the two had been strained ever since.

The Purists meanwhile, had a godsend in Emperor Charles. The only point of contention between the two parties ideologically had been the Numbers; while the Emperor believed that ultimately the strong, regardless of race, would come out on top, the Purists supported the full oppression of the Numbers and their complete disenfranchisement. Aside from that, and the uproar about Marianne(the public opposition had quickly been destroyed when the Emperor had flexed his political might), the Purists had consistently been garnering more and more support as the years of Charles' reign went by.

It all ultimately led to its leader, Duke Lordstrom. He certainly did not hold his position by the luck of birth. A shrewd and ruthless man, he was by far the most vocal and persistent opponent of Marianne in court and had risked both his position and his faction numerous times to try and discredit her early in her career when then-Prince Charles' eyes had originally landed on her. All of it led to him being the natural primary suspect to the young boy Prince, not to mention what he had done to the Ashfords. He was also one of the few who has the connections and money to pull it off and escape with clean hands. As the leader of the Purists, the amount of connections available to the man would have made acquiring the people for the job child's play. The Purists were well known for being active participants in inciting, and even partaking, in the "Emblem of Blood" incident.

Thinking of the man made Lelouch clench his fist in frustration as he reached for the knife strapped to his side in reassurance. It had been a present from Cornelia that he had hesitantly accepted, but now brought him no small amount of mental security. Unstrapping it, he slowly lifted the knife and held it to the light of the lamp on the desk.

* * *

"Use it only to protect you and your sister, Lelouch. I trust you with this because I don't want to see you hurt again, so use it wisely," his sister had said in a soft voice, as he looked down anywhere but at the knife. It had been his first day at the Libra Palace, and he had just finished emptying his sorrows on Euphie. Holding him and letting her own tears fall had been the most she could do for the distraught boy as he let loose his grief on her shoulder, and he had eventually collapsed due to sheer emotional exhaustion. Upon waking up, he had found a pensive Cornelia in a chair by his bed.

Upon seeing him awake, she had crouched down next to the bed and had taken his hand. "Are you alright? How do you feel Lelouch? You passed out in the courtyard and your sisters and Clovis have been worried sick. Euphie's been blaming herself for knocking you to the ground and making you hit your head."

Raising his hand weakly to hold off her string of worries, Lelouch took his time in responding while refusing to make eye contact with anything but the sheets. "Yes sister. I feel fine, and I don't think I'm hurt either. Just a little worn out."

Maintaining a disbelieving expression on that clearly said she didn't buy it, Cornelia had grabbed his face and made him look her in the eyes. He could see the worry and frustration clearly in her eyes. If there was one thing Cornelia was an utter failure at, it was keeping her emotions in check, on or off the battlefield. Looking into his eyes, all Cornelia could see was a frail, clouded mockery of the former beauty that Lelouch's eyes had been to her before the incident. Lelouch had seen his sister's eyes harden slightly in resolve, making him slightly uncomfortable. "Lelouch. I'm going to give you something that you have to promise to not lose, and to only use when you absolutely have to."

Fighting to not flinch at the seriousness in her voice, he weakly responded an affirmative. "Hold out your hand Lelouch."

Obeying his sister, he swung his right hand around towards her, as she slipped something out of her pocket with practiced ease and placed it in his hand and closed his fingers around it. Lelouch instantly knew it was metal, for it was cold and had a leather covering.

Eyes widening, Lelouch quickly stammered, "Cornelia! You can't be serious! I can't carry a knife, I'm 10! I don't want to have to hurt anybody!"

Looking wistfully into his eyes, Cornelia had gently let go of his hand and taken hold of his head and rested it softly on her chest. "You reacted exactly like I did when Andreas Darlton, my military instructor, first presented me a gun. I was nervous, uneasy, and didn't want to have to do anything with it. For an entire month, I refused to carry it after dropping it off in the dorms, much to Darlton's amusement. It was on my first and only practice mission in Area 12(the Philippines), when I was forced to abandon my Knightmare and take on a few lone rebels on foot that I realized how much safer I'd have been, how less nervous I'd have been, had I been carrying that gun. After that, I decided I'd rather be with my family and took the role of Head of the Guard for Aries Villa. The thing about a weapon is, you don't truly know how valuable it is to you until you truly need it."

Raising his head to look the teary-eyed boy in the eyes, she softly whispered, "I'm not telling you to go around swinging it at people. All I'm telling you is that it will help you keep your calm knowing that you can protect yourself and your sister. I carry that gun everywhere, Clovis carries a revolver on him at all times, and Schneizel has Kanon, and I'm not even going to begin telling you just how much weaponry he carries on him. Don't mess with Kanon Lelouch, I'm serious."

Snickering slightly at his sister's attempts at humor, Lelouch nodded his head slightly. Smiling, Cornelia spent the next few minutes learning how to strap it on and how to pull it out in a hurry. The next half hour was spent teaching him how to properly hold a knife and how to use it. While by no means proficient, Lelouch had to admit that he DID feel slightly better, not only due to the knife, but due to his sister's company and dedication in making sure that he was alright.

Turning to face his sister, he asked, "How's Nunnally? Is she with Euphie?" Nodding, Cornelia asked had him put the knife back in its sheath and watched as he struggled to strap it in place. Taking pity on him, she moved forward to help him and together, the two walked out of what Cornelia had called 'His room' and walked out to the gardens. While not as large or as beautiful as Aries Villa, the gardens at Libra Palace were certainly splendorous. Coming to a stop by a small hill, he found Nunnally and Euphemia lying in the flower bed below, looking at the sky as Euphemia tried to comfort his little sister. He could feel a pit of tension in his stomach at the sad expression on his sister's face.

Deciding to get it over with, he stepped forward and with a slight cough, said, "Hi Nunnally, Euphie. I'm awake." As the first syllable left his mouth, flowers went flying and pollen flew skywards, making him cough as his two sisters made a mad dash for him. Ready to brace for impact, he was surprised when his sisters decided to moderate their sprint and simply latched on to him instead of giving him the full flying body tackle hug of doom.

"Brother…" sobbed Nunnally lightly. "I th-thought you were gone. You were crying, and all of a sudden you weren't moving and I…and I-I thought you had…left me, just like m-mom." Short little shakes in her shoulders made it clear what she was getting at. Smiling weakly, not that his sister could see it, Lelouch squeezed his arms around her a little bit tighter, doing his best to console her. "It's alright Nunnally, I'm still here. I've never heard of a man dying due to crying too much, and I don't intend to be the first. I'll always be here for you, and nothing's going to take me away from you…ever." At his words, both Euphemia and Nunnally buried their heads just a little bit more into him as thought to prove he wouldn't disappear. Smiling gently, Lelouch could feel the knot in his chest continue to steadily loosen as he was held by his siblings. Cornelia looked on with a teary smile and decided to join the hug, doing her best to soothe her distressed siblings as she embraced the trio.

After about a minute of hugging, Lelouch decided that enough was enough. Boys don't cry after all. Kissing each of his sisters lightly on the forehead, and giving Cornelia one last squeeze, he slowly backed out of the hug, until he heard a voice he knew all too well breaking the rather tender moment. "Lelouch? Nunnally? There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" shouted the indignant voice of Clovis la Britannia. Despite the tone, the nervous smile and gentle expression assured them that he wasn't simply being crass. Lifting his younger brother up by the armpits, Clovis inspected him all over, shaking up Lelouch in the process, before simply embracing him in a short but meaningful hug.

"It's good to see you Clovis. Have you been here all this time?" Lelouch asked with a quirk of his eyebrows.

"Indeed I have dear brother, I've been here since before you and Nunnally showed up. Now if you'll excuse me…I've got a sweet little angel to greet" said Clovis as he lowered Lelouch and in a few long paces, knelt down, and scooped his younger sibling into a tight hug while lifting her in the air and twirling her in slow, lazy circles. "Hello there Nunnally. I've missed you both terribly since the last time I saw you two 2 weeks ago." Giving his little sister one last moment of embrace, he set Nunnally down gently and stood up to his full height. "Dinner will be ready soon; let's go. You'll feel better with something in your stomach. Considering you haven't eaten since yesterday night," spoke Clovis with an elegant nod in Lelouch's direction. "Come along now, the Lady of the House is waiting on us."

Like the close-knit little band of troublemaking brats that they had once been years ago in Aries Villa, the group of siblings followed each other in a single-file line, Clovis in the lead as in the past. It was a happy memory of times past that brought a content chuckle to Lelouch as he followed quietly. He could even see a superimposed image of the twelve-year old Third Prince marching proudly as his horde of minions(and Cornelia) followed behind him with happy smiles. With a small twitch of the mouth aimed at the heavens, Lelouch relaxed just a bit more. Perhaps not all memories of his home would be corrupted after all.

Coming back to himself in present time, Lelouch mentally skipped over the dinner. It had been a quiet affair and one where he had quickly realized the apathy of Lady li Britannia. Having long since shrugged it off at this point, the only noteworthy event for the rest of the evening had been the arrival of Schneizel.

* * *

_10 O'Clock, the Night After the Murder_

Lelouch had been preparing himself for bed, having already been informed that for the time being, he would be sharing with his sister, which he had shrugged at, nonplussed. Euphemia had wanted to join them, but a swift 'No' from Cornelia had quickly shut her down and left her pouting and upset as she stomped off to her room. She would later be caught by Cornelia trying to sneak down to the guest room housing the two semi-orphaned siblings with a pillow in hand and a pout on her face as Cornelia once more spoiled her fun. She would later continue to try and even succeed every once in a while in sneaking into the siblings' room and snuggling in with them to pass the night. He and Nunnally were both already dressed in their pajamas and had brushed their teeth, ready for bed. Nunnally was already fast asleep and Lelouch was in bed, ready to turn off his lamp and join her in her slumber.

Just as he was about to turn off the lights, a soft knock was heard from the other side of the door. Feeling secure in knowing that Jeremiah was standing guard outside, he slipped out of bed and opened the door. Before the young boy, in full Imperial regalia stood Schneizel el Britannia, with his usual polite smile on his face. Seeing Lelouch, his face broke into one of the true few smiles he showed to a select few people, the vi Britannia siblings amongst them. Lelouch could feel his own smile growing as he noticed behind Schneizel stood Kanon and Jeremiah. Nodding to Jeremiah, Kanon opted to stay outside as well and allow the two siblings to catch up.

Closing the door gently behind him, Schneizel gestured at the two sofas sitting opposite each other and Lelouch nodded, obliging his request. The two were silent for a short while until Schneizel broke the quiet. "I visited the Villa earlier today. I decided to bring this with me; I was rather surprised you didn't bring it with you, and admittedly a little bit hurt."

Cocking an eyebrow, Lelouch opened his mouth to protest that he hadn't meant to when he saw what Schneizel was referring to. Mouth left open in an 'O', he quickly lowered his head. "I left it by accident Schneizel, I swear. I didn't notice I didn't have it until you brought it up, with all of that had happened recent-"

"I get it, I get it, no need to get upset or fussed about it. I was merely joking and knew why you left it. Still as quick as ever to fold when a sibling brings down the guilt, Lelouch?" said Schneizel. His tone held none of the flowery wording and the calm tone one would except of the White Prince; Lelouch was one of the few siblings Schneizel felt truly comfortable loosening the filter that he kept on his words, and his tone clearly conveyed his amusement.

Smiling bashfully, Lelouch didn't answer and began to set down the chess set and began to ready the black side. Schneizel began doing the same for the white, albeit while keeping his gaze locked firmly on his brother, as though searching him for clues. Satisfied that he was fine, Schneizel continued. "I'm currently launching my own investigation as Prime Minister. I hope to find the criminal who robbed us of the bright spot in life that was your mother."

Lelouch's demeanor and good spirits lowered at the mentioning of his mother, but he couldn't fault Schneizel. It needed to be said, despite the sorrow he could feel building in his gut. "I have complete faith in you brother. But as I asked Cornelia, what has father done?" Schneizel's unwavering expression gave Lelouch all the answers he needed. Sighing softly, he began by moving a pawn. Schneizel opened immediately with his knight in return.

"I have some other news to share with you. Negotiations with Japan over its trade in Sakuradite are slowly breaking down and the Emperor is beginning to favor the option of bringing them to heed his words by the sword." This, while a radical change in subject, was nothing new. Early last year, Lelouch had insisted that Schneizel share some of what he lexperienced as Prime Minister with him. While making sure to keep the classified as classified, Schneizel gladly obliged his curious young brother. He knew full well that Lelouch, upon entering a Royal Academy, would be quickly branded as the second coming of the White Prince, so he did not see it as a waste of time. Lelouch always had the most interesting of opinions, in Schneizel's mind.

Quirking his eyebrows and grateful for the change in subject, he slowly obliged his brother's unspoken request for his opinion. Heavens help some of the more conservative members of the Cabinet if they found out one or two of Lelouch's ideas had actually been subtly implemented by Schneizel in the last two years, to his brother's delight. "…it makes sense. Japan hasn't been a friend to Britannia ever since the end of the First Pacific War, so the chances of Japan negotiating fairly were already small. If all other means have been tried…then I think Father may have reason."

Schneizel's eyebrows shifted to an almost unnoticeable degree as he heard his brother's words. While no pacifist, he had never taken Lelouch as the warmongering type. He always figured Cornelia would end up in that role, not his dear little brother. "What makes you think that war is the right tool to use in this case?" inquired a still serene Schneizel as he moved a rook and took Lelouch's tower, much to the young boy's consternation.

"It's like I said, isn't it? We've tried everything else. What else do we have left to try? We can't bully Japan, it's too large a power to be forced into submission, but not strong enough to cause true hesitance like the EU or the Chinese Federation would. What do you think, Schneizel?" asked a curious Lelouch. Schneizel winced inwardly as Lelouch managed to take his queen at the cost of one of his knights.

"While I have never personally served on a battlefield, I have commanded battles and have seen the aftermaths of war, Lelouch. They aren't pretty. I have personally made war my last resort; it's not only a cruel way to get what one wants, but it causes much more suffering on both sides than a different tactic would. It may be hard to understand looking at it only through a television, but war inevitably brings suffering," spoke Schneizel in a slightly more subdued tone than before.

A slightly more awkward silence settled between the two as they played until Schneizel moved a pawn forward. "Checkmate."

"What! How? I'm nowhere near close to being checkmated!" whispered an indignant Lelouch, mindful to not wake his sister.

"Your king is trapped in a corner and your own pieces are blocking its movement. If I were to move either my tower," at this, Schneizel moved it, demonstrating it for his brother. "-Or my knight, you would be forced into the path of the other and would inevitably be checkmated." Schneizel paused and watched his brother's expression, ready to receive the reward that always awaited stumping Lelouch.

"…..damn you, Schneizel," cursed a defeated Lelouch. "How do you always pull off those tricky maneuvers? The only person who can beat me is you, and yet I can barely pull off a draw on my best day."

"It's all a matter of practice, little brother. You'll see eventually," said Schneizel in an amused tone.

Standing up, Schneizel nodded at his brother as he made to leave. "Farewell Lelouch. Give Nunnally my regards, and don't let yourself be beaten, by me, or by anybody. Oh, and Odysseus sends his best wishes as well."

With that, he turned around and leisurely walked out the door as Lelouch was once again left wondering how his brother could be so cool and collected in whatever he did. He even made walking out the door look like a gracefully practiced art.

* * *

From then on, the last two months had fallen into a routine, with one notable exception as the two remaining vi Britannians tried to capture a semblance of the lives they had lived before. It had taken a month before Lelouch was comfortable leaving the manor, and he still refused to leave at all unless Jeremiah went with him. Nunnally had only recently gathered the courage to step outside of the grounds, and only as long as her brother went with her. If there was one price that they had to pay for the events that had gone on, they were Lelouch's immaturity and Nunnally's rebellious streak. Lelouch, while still an innocent child, had become much more subdued and moody, as though he were starting puberty early. Nunnally meanwhile, had become much more compliant with any directions given to her by her older siblings and the rebellious nature of Marianne had been dampened in her, which was both a blessing and a curse for Lelouch.

On the one hand, keeping an eye on his sister and ensuring she was alright had become far, far more simpler now that she tended to defer to him or his siblings instead of doing things on her own initiative. Never again would Lelouch have nightmares of Nunnally's more daring adventures, such as the time Nunnally had climbed one of the tallest trees in Aries Villa to the very top and hadn't been able to come down on her own. On the other hand, the signs that Nunnally was his mother's daughter were becoming less and less visible as she became less outgoing.

The two months had also had mixed results for Lelouch's trust issues. While he had absolute faith in his siblings and Jeremiah, any other person he had to interact with would receive the cold and indifferent treatment stereotypical of a noble, rather than the open friendliness that had once been present in the boy. Admittedly, it had been far worse earlier, when he had refused to let the maids clean the rooms without having them interrogated first. Needless to say, Lelouch's paranoia was now down to much more manageable levels, otherwise he wouldn't feel ready to try what he's planning to do today.

Lelouch's mind finally wandered onto the period's biggest incident. The fact outside of his closest siblings, the vi Britannia's closest allies were now gone due to the fall of Marianne. And with them, was his closest friend outside of the family and Clovis' honorary minion. Remembering the day made the young boy clench his fist in childish anger at losing one of his closest friends due to the Purists bastards.

_It was a dark, stormy night, as it had been the entire day. For rain to fall in Pendragon was an oddity, and Lelouch was convinced that the heavens had conspired to darken specifically for his mother on this day. He was currently standing in front of an airplane, and for the first time since his mother's death, felt anger. Sheer rage boiled inside of him at the injustice of it all. First his mother, now his extended family? What else could life possibly strip him of next? _

* * *

_The funeral earlier that day had been small, quiet, and limited to Ruben Ashford and his granddaughter Milly, the vi Britannia siblings, the li Britannia siblings, Clovis, Jeremiah Gottwald, and a select few members of the guard and staff. Schneizel hadn't been able to make it and the Emperor hadn't even bothered with an excuse. Nunnally had laid the roses on the coffin, and it was all Lelouch could do to not openly sob as he held his sister while his mother's coffin was lowered into the ground. Angry tears flooded down his face at the injustice of it all. Why, of all people, did it have to be Marianne the Flash, 5__th__ Consort, and loving mother that had to die? Why couldn't it have been somebody, anybody else? Why, Why, WHY?_

_After the funeral, Lelouch had been in a foul mood and utterly downtrodden. For once, his siblings, save Nunnally, had decided to give him space. Currently, they were sitting on the hill that overlooked the flowerbed, Nunnally sitting on top of his legs as he held her around her middle, both seeking comfort from their grief from each other, knowing full well that they were the last thing they each had. _

_It was only made worse knowing that later today, Milly Ashford and her family would be leaving Britannia forever. Lelouch once more cursed the Purists and the Emperor for siding with them when they were clearly in the wrong. He cursed the nobility, he cursed their greed, and he cursed the corrupt Imperial government that was robbing him of his friend and taking her away from him immediately after his mother._

_On the day that Marianne had been declared murdered by terrorists, the Purists had pounced on the Ashfords, or more specifically, the Ashford Foundation. They had falsified documents claiming that they had purposely kept inaccurate finances and had secretly been smuggling millions of pounds out of the Knightmare Project for years and had forced Marianne to help them keep it hush-hush by threatening to blackmail her and her children. Worse yet, when MI-6 went to investigate the ancestral Ashford home in Massachusetts, they had found large amounts of cash that was unaccounted for, and as a result, much of the remains Ashford fortune had been used to defend their name in court and keep the family out jail, bankrupting the Ashford Foundation in the process. Financially ruined and having failed to explain the millions of undocumented pounds found in the Ashford Mansion, the media had a field day dragging the Ashford family through the dirt. All that had been left of the Ashfords, once a strong and ancient line in Britannian history that had contributed many governors of Massachusetts and even a Prime Minister, was their noble title. The Emperor, having had enough of the media circus, had stripped the Ashfords of their patent over the Knightmare Frame and forced them into exile. _

_Lelouch KNEW that the Purists had framed the Ashfords. After Marianne and Numbers, the Ashfords had been the biggest enemies of the Purists for decades, openly defying them and spitting in the face of their ideology. The Ashfords had not accounted for the possibility that their biggest benefactor in court would be brutally murdered, nor the extents to which the Purists would go, even using the old and decrepit Ashford Mansion in their scheme to frame them. The worst part was that they had left no evidence, and the only thing that gave them away was that they were the ones to immediately leap upon the death of Marianne. The timing had only served to further rise Lelouch's suspicions that the Purists, and one in particular, were behind the downfalls of the vi Britannia and the Ashfords. _

_Now, here he was, about to bid farewell forever to what amounted to a third of his true family inside of his mind. The Ashfords had chosen to leave for Japan, figuring that with the already established Britannian diaspora inside the country, they could start anew. Ruben Ashford had mentioned the possibility of opening a school in Japan for Britannian expats with the scraps of the Ashford fortune that remained; all Lelouch could do was wish him the best. Milly had at first been in disbelief. She had refused to believe that the life she had known was being snatched away from her, and Lelouch could sympathize. It was no different than having have had his peaceful life stolen from him by his mother's murderers. He had decided to see them off, knowing full well that the likelihood of their meeting again was beyond slim, so long as the taint on the Ashford name remained._

_He stood on the landing strip as a small plane hummed. It was almost time, and he could feel his heartbeat thumping loudly. He had decided to come with only Jeremiah; his younger sisters had been too emotionally spent to come with him, and Cornelia needed to take care of them. Clovis was already back at his own home and didn't know Milly all that well either; they had gotten along well enough though, the few times they had met. Enough that Clovis had declared her an honorary minion several years ago, much to Milly's delight._

_He could see a small group approaching; the Ashfords had arrived. Recognizing the slightly smaller figure dashing ahead, he braced himself once again while wondering if he was cursed to be eternally glomped by girls. Expecting it, he caught Milly as she embraced him tightly, as though refusing to let him go. Her usually pretty face was covered in tears and slight snot trail, and it was readily apparent she had been crying long before she had arrived. "I don't want to go Lulu…I don't want to leave you and Nunna. I want to stay here with you…" whispered Milly in between hiccups and sobs. Lelouch smiled a small, bitter smile that truly wasn't a smile at all; it was far more of a grimace, his misery clear on his face. "I wish you could too Milly…but there's nothing I can do. I'm sorry," said the Prince, his face clearly in agony at the thought of losing someone else. Milly's hug became all the more desperate at his words, but suddenly she looked up with a small glint of hope in her eyes. "Lelouch! Come with me to Japan! We can bring Nunnally too! We'll be able to play and be together like we always have...Lelouch?"_

_Said boy was too shaken up to respond immediately. Japan…was far away. As a prince, he would never be allowed to leave until he was an adult, and then, only in official capacity as a diplomat in a nation such as Japan. The burning feeling in his stomach grew stronger, only further fueling his misery. Even if at the moment, he would love nothing more than to leave the life of a prince behind and hide behind his childhood alongside one of his closest friends. "I'm sorry Milly…" Lelouch whispered into her ear, "I can't. I wish I could, but I can't. I'm sorry…" With that, the dam broke and tears silently began to slide down his face at the injustice life was once again dealing him. _

_Milly's composure broke at that and she continued to sob in his arms more heavily than before. He could see her grandfather approaching at the head of the downcast Ashford clan, all looking solemn and saddened. But once more, he felt Milly tense. Worried that she may soon be overcome by her emotions and collapse as he had done, he tried to steady the slightly taller girl in his arms. But what surprised him most was when Milly stood up firmly on her own two legs, a fierce determination in her eyes in spite of the tears that continued to stream down her face…or was it rain now?_

_Reaching forward as if to grab him, she surprised him by grabbing his face and pressing her lips against his, holding the kiss until she heard her grandfather coughing behind her. Shooting him her most withering glare, she turned back to a thunderstruck Lelouch. "Don't forget about me, because one day, someday, we'll meet again, and when we do, you're going to make up for not being with me for however much time has kept us apart! Got it?!" Lelouch, still slightly braindead, could only nod up and down as she flashed him a weak smile and turned to her grandfather. "I'm ready to go now, Grandpa."_

_Nodding, he turned to Lelouch and extended his hand. Taking it, Lelouch shook it and nodded his head. There was no need for words. At least, Lelouch thought so until he leant in and said, "When you meet my granddaughter again, I want a wedding before I get grandchildren. Are we clear, m'boy?"_

_Lelouch's eyes were popping out of his head as the old man gave a small chuckle at his expression, giving him one last squeeze of the shoulder as the other Ashfords followed suit, wishing him well and giving him small nods of their heads. Finally, once all the farewells had been given, Reuben gently escorted his downcast granddaughter onto the plane, the rest of the Ashfords following suit. Lelouch wiped the remaining tears(or was it rain? He couldn't even tell any more) as he waved his arm at the departing plane until it was out of view, obscured by the rain._

_And as the plane took off and the lone boy's arm disappeared from view, Milly Ashford broke down into heaving, miserable sobs, her grandfather and mother doing the best they could to comfort the heartbroken little girl. _

Turning to Jeremiah and wiping his eyes of the stray rainwater/tears that had fallen on his face once more, Lelouch asked to be taken home, and on the way there, he couldn't help but quietly reflect on why his heart felt like a small piece had just been ripped off.

* * *

Having finished his self-reflection, Lelouch watched as his sister stirred gently from her sleep. Today was the day. Today was the day he would confront his father on the issue of his mother's death.

Clovis, Schneizel, Cornelia, Jeremiah, and even _Euphemia_ had tried to talk him out of facing their father. Schneizel and Cornelia had already personally attempted to question their father on the issue individually, and both had been obtusely blocked from inquiring further; the Emperor telling them that to question him further would only risk their positions and his ire. That had quickly served to hush up his siblings, and both were convinced that Lelouch would fare no better.

He had been stubborn in insisting that he would make the man see reason; he had carefully planned all of his arguments and points, and was convinced that he would get his Father to tell him what he was doing; Lelouch's driving purposes had become the avenging of his mother and the clearing of the Ashford name. Yet he couldn't help but feel the small part of him that had appeared on the day of his mother's funeral, the part that decried and hated his Father for not showing up, cast doubt on his plan, yelling at him that the man who had sired him wouldn't give a damn.

While relieved that Lelouch had kept his level head on the matter, his three older siblings couldn't help but despair at his pigheadedness. It was painfully obvious he wouldn't rest until he received answers, and that would inevitably mean confronting their Father. They had decided to intervene to ensure that Lelouch didn't do something foolish. As such they had asked(demanded) that Lelouch be escorted by them and that they, along with Lelouch, would provide a united front against the Emperor. To say that Lelouch couldn't believe his eyes when _Schneizel_ of all people proposed facing the Emperor directly on his behalf would be to like saying that the Emperor was just a bit ruthless.

So, the day had arrived. Evidence directly incriminating the Purist faction had been gathered and recorded, and Schneizel, Cornelia, Clovis, and Lelouch were ready and gathered in front of the doors to the Imperial throne room.

"Announcing, 2nd Prince Schneizel el Britannia, Prime Minister of the Holy Britannian Empire, 2nd Princess Cornelia li Britannia, 3rd Prince Clovis la Britannia, and 11th Prince Lelouch Vi Britannia!" shouted out the announcer at the door. The room, which had been full of quiet voices murmuring, hushed instantly at the rare sight. For indeed it was rare to see so many children of Charles vi Britannia gathered without open hostility towards each other; Lelouch's close-knit pack of siblings was the exception to the rule.

Lining up in front of their Emperor's throne room, as one, the four fell to one knee and saluted His Majesty, their Father. "All hail the Emperor!" said the four in unison as they all slowly rose to their full height. "Father, we are grateful for the audience you have granted us. Allow me to detail you with why we asked for your audience," started Schneizel.

The Emperor gave a small nod of his head, face impassive.

"We have come here to report that the investigations both Cornelia and I launched into the late Empress Marianne's death have both come up inconclusive. Furthermore, we investigated into whether or not the Ashfords may have played a role in her death."

At this, Lelouch clenched his fist. This wording was necessary to ensure their Father's patience; for one so strong-willed, any wasting of time was unacceptable. "The results also came up inconclusive, albeit we have found discrepancies between the evidence submitted for their stealing of Royal funds, and the reality of their financial situation."

At this, the Emperor's voice boomed in. "Schneizel, do not waste MY time. I have closed the matter of the Ashfords indefinitely. Do not bring them up again; get to your point or leave my sight."

Lelouch's heartbeat skyrocketed in fury at his father. If even Schneizel, White Prince of the Empire and one of the most gifted diplomats the world had ever seen, at the levels of Metternich and Bismarck, could not sway their Father, this entire endeavor would be a waste.

"…Very well, Your Majesty. Carrying on, due to the lack of conclusive evidence, I request that my siblings and I receive access to MI-6's own investigation reports so as to cross-reference evidence and bring a conclusion to the vile murder of one of Britannia's greatest soldiers."

"There IS no evidence, Schneizel. The assassins were captured and gunned down. There is nothing left to investigate," interrupted the Emperor, annoyance visible on his face at having to waste time so.

"Your Majesty-" interrupted Cornelia before Schneizel could respond. "I've personally had MI-6 members investigate any and all police and criminal activity the day of the murder, the day before, and the three days that followed the murder. There was no record of-"

"ENOUGH, Cornelia," boomed the Emperor. "The case has been closed and my wife's death avenged."

Clovis was doing all that he could to ensure that Lelouch didn't lash short of slapping a hand over his mouth. But he quickly realized that his efforts were useless as he could see Lelouch's rage boiling to the surface.

"Schneizel," hissed Clovis, trying to warn him to the impending explosion. Alas, for naught.

"Father!" shouted Lelouch. "Why have you not released the records for the death of her murderers!? Why have you been trying to downplay the murder of the Knight of Two, the Fifth Empress?!"

At this, Schneizel was having an internal panic attack and Cornelia and Clovis were looking at Lelouch in disbelief and astonishment at his daring. So much for the plan, albeit it's failure had already been fairly apparent from the get-go.

"WHY WEREN'T YOU AT THE FUNERAL!?" demanded Lelouch as he panted his rage, visible for the entire crowd to see.

At this, the Emperor began to laugh. It didn't hold any warm intent or genuine humor. It was dark, cold, and carried menace with every booming echo of it through the halls. Finally, he stopped laughing gradually as his eyes hardened and he stood off his throne abruptly.

"LELOUCH!" roared the Emperor. Said prince jumped at the sheer intimidation the man could release with one word and his eyes slowly widened in dawning horror as he realized what he had just done.

"Are you accusing ME of conspiring to hide the MURDER OF MY WIFE?" demanded the Emperor in a booming shout. Before Lelouch could even muster the wits to think of a response, the Emperor continued his onslaught.

"Ungrateful CORPSE! Who has given you everything, and paid for your FOOD, your CLOTHING, and your HOME? Who gave you LIFE? Who gave you YOUR LIFE? I DID. And THIS is how you repay what I've done. I have no use for a CORPSE such as you, for effectively immediately, YOU. ARE. DEAD. You will be sent in exile to Japan as a bartering chip until I decide to reverse my decision…in a month, you shall be gone and Lelouch vi Britannia will be DEAD to the world until I say otherwise. And for your insolence, your sister shall share your fate. BEGONE!"

At this, the nobles broke into loud whispering that was quickly becoming an all-deafening roar. Lelouch could only stare in abject horror at the monster of a man that moments ago had been his Father….no, he had no father. This…animal had NEVER been his father.

His siblings could only watch on in despair as their sibling was essentially stripped of everything in a few short sentences. The fact that they had been right was no comfort as they slowly escorted their defeated little brother, heads still held high as required of them in court, meanwhile the whispering continued and only seemed to grow into open chatter and derision.

The tension that had slowly been leaving Lelouch in the two months since his mother's death returned, and had chased the happy boy he had once been down into the depths of his heart. Unfeeling, and uncaring, Lelouch stared down at the marble tiles, face hardened and cold with a blazing hate alighting his eyes as they searched the floor as though hoping to find answers.

* * *

AN: So, here we are, Chapter 3. I honestly didn't think I'd get this out this fast, and was already done the night before, but it required some polish and I also needed to write the AN. Heck, I'm still convinced the story needs more polish but am unsure how to go about it.

So, here we have the end of the prologue, or at least, the part of the prologue that takes place in Britannia. Next comes Japan, before we will skip up to the point where the anime starts. As a side note, I've gone back and done edits to Chapter 2, fixing small grammar mistakes and adding a line or two to better show Lelouch's grief.

Something worth note here is that Lelouch's grief has been transformed into anger, and has birthed hate within him. At the moment, that hate is aimed squarely on his father, but as we know, Geass corrupts the mind, and that hate could fester and grow…I'm also not spoiling anything. Who's to say Lelouch even gets Geass anyways? Remember, this story is actually supposed to be more lighthearted than the anime, so don't expect me to have Lelouch become the avenging little demon ready to throw everything else out the window that he was in canon.

Finally, I'd like to once again thank you all for reading, this chapter actually doubles the word count of the story! Chapter 1 WAS very brief though, so it isn't saying much. Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW! So far I've found it to be an excellent tool in judging the interests and complaints individual readers have with my writing(so far, nothing on the story!). It tells me that people care to read on, and not only is it a motivator, but it also helps me up the polish and quality of the story through feedback.

Next time: Japan!


	4. Chapter 4: Ohayo Japan, Ohayo Area 11

**Chapter 3: Ohayo Japan, Ohayo Area 11**

Lelouch was pissed. Nay, he wasn't pissed. Pissed was too weak a word. No, he was _gut-wrenchingly furious! _Being stuck in an enclosed space and unable to do anything about it wasn't helping his mood either, for that matter.

Currently seated in a world-class airplane, mentally raging was all Lelouch could do to stop himself from childishly hitting at the seats in front of him. _No,_ had thought the young boy, _I refuse to act like a childish brat._ Of course, that didn't stop him from doing the mental equivalent of it.

_If there's one good thing that going to Japan is going to bring, it's that I'm probably going to see Milly much sooner than I thought I would, _thought Lelouch, bad mood lifting slightly.

_If the situation wasn't so dour, this would be almost amusing,_ thought the young boy's guard as he gave a slight mental chuckle, said guard seated directly across from him being Jeremiah Gottwald. _ The young prince may talk like a man, but his exterior? Oh no, Prince Lelouch still acts his age no matter how much he refuses to voice it._

It was certainly true, for while the Prince's mind may have been a raging maelstrom of righteous anger and helplessness, his appearance betrayed his mind, mostly by not doing it justice. Slumped against his seat, a slight scowl that looked more like a pout adorned his face, and his angrily crossed arms didn't help either. The boy prince far more resembled a boy that had his favorite toy stolen, than the mature, furious young man he pictured and styled himself as.

_And yet, it's true, in a way, _thought Jeremiah sadly. _His friends and family, save for his sister have been taken from him, every possession save the clothes on his back denied to him, and his house, exiled from. There's not much for it though, until the Emperor chooses otherwise._

Jeremiah, despite the bleakness of his thoughts, was still slightly optimistic. The Japanese, he knew, valued respect and courtesy highly and would treat the young prince well. And it wasn't as though they were to be exiled forever; temporary exile had long been a staple of punishment amongst the Royal family. Take Lelouch's older brother Alfred fi Britannia, 6th Prince of the Empire, for example; his shameless mismanagement of Area 5 caused the Emperor to exile him for 5 years to Turkey. He would be due to return to Britannia within 2 years, if all went well. While Lelouch and his sister hadn't received an exact length of time that they would be exiled, it was unprecedented, _and therefore, unthinkable_, thought a small voice in the back of Jeremiah's head, that a Prince and Princess of the Empire would be banished indefinitely. He'd gladly take his own eye before he bet against the two young royals returning in due time.

Regardless, no matter how long the vi Britannia siblings were exiled, Jeremiah had pledged to them that he would remain by their side until a greater power said otherwise. He could clearly recall the day, for in actuality, it was a much cherished memory that he doubted would ever leave his conscious. His young charge and his sister had been playing earlier…

* * *

_/A Week After The Emperor's Decree/_

* * *

Lelouch and Nunnally were depressed. There was no other way to describe the haunted looks Lelouch carried everywhere, or the red-rimmed eyes that had become such a normalcy on his sister's downcast face. While no one(save Lady li Britannia) had been actively avoiding them, it had become unvoiced amongst those who lived in the house to give them their space. Save for herself, of course, and their bodyguard too. Cornelia couldn't bear to stay in the same room as them, for she blamed herself for what had been handed to them. It was SHE that had backed Schneizel's plan to try and reason with the Emperor, it had been SHE that had entertained Lelouch's notions of even considering approaching the Emperor, since the day after his mother's death. She had never seen her sister look so down or defeated in her life.

While she hadn't been there herself, she had more or less figured out that her three older siblings had a falling out of sorts. Clovis had been furious, and had turned the full blame of the situation on Schneizel. Schneizel, while he had blamed himself, had remained adamant that while the results were terrible, it had to be done, and that Lelouch would have inevitably confronted the man on his own. Clovis had snorted derisively at that and had stormed off and the two hadn't spoken since. Cornelia, meanwhile, had folded into herself and shouldered the full share of the blame on her own consciousness. It tore at her heart to see her sister so, so different from the fiery, brash, yet kind and caring sister she knew.

While Euphemia's thoughts didn't exactly follow that exact trail of thought, she had subconsciously pieced together those same conclusions in much lighter terms, due to what her own eyes had shown her. The little nine-year-old girl was determined, however, to change what she saw. She had been trying, ever since her siblings had returned wearied and defeated. Every waking moment that she could, she had tried to spend it with her siblings. Cornelia had half-heartedly tried to humor her little sister, but she knew that deep inside she was still as troubled as ever. Nunnally had grabbed onto their time together with both hands, but she knew that she was still scared and that her heart wasn't fully in it. Lelouch meanwhile, had point-blank apologized profusely, before he told her that he was in no mood to play and that she should stop trying to cheer him up.

While startling to hear that from her once gentle brother's mouth, or her sisters' discomfort, Euphemia persevered. In the nine-year-old's mind, it was all worth it whenever Cornelia would chuckle lightly at her antics, for when Nunnally would lose herself and embrace the lightheartedness of the moment, and when Lelouch's face would break from his somber mask to crack a small smile. Seeing her siblings happy truly brought Euphemia happiness, a rarity in this world.

It currently was two weeks before Lelouch would depart in the middle of Euphemia's latest scheme to lighten his heart. The two were playing still, after Nunnally had begged out in favor of getting something to eat, though both knew that she was just not up for games at the moment. Lelouch wasn't either, but he had been doing his best to cooperate with his younger half-sibling these last two weeks. Angry, frustrated, and down he may be, but the depth of his caring for his two younger sisters was indestructible.

They were currently playing a game of tag, and predictably, Euphemia was winning. Hide and Seek, Chess, or anything that required an ounce of brainpower would have been right up Lelouch's ally. But of course, his sister had to pick something that involved physical activity. Panting, Lelouch bit back a word he had heard Clovis say once that had earned him a lighthearted smack from his mother. If she was trying to cheer him up, it certainly wasn't working. On the other hand, if she was trying to murder him, her plan was working splendidly.

"Lu-Lu

Hold still

I just want

To tag YOU!"

Cackled Euphemia in a sing-song voice as she ran right on his tail. Lelouch knew that she was enjoying watching him squirm. Perhaps his thoughts of death by pink evil weren't so unfounded? All thoughts stopped as he felt his foot hit a rock and the floor suddenly got closer and closer to his face. With a thud, Lelouch faceplanted into the dry, soft, and warm grass. Another thud could be heard, this one much louder, as Euphemia decided that now was as good a time as any to land directly on top of him.

Lelouch silently cursed, or did the sheltered 10-year old equivalent of it, as he felt Euphemia's hands land solidly on his sides. Despair filled him, knowing full well what was to come.

"TICKLE FIGHT!" shouted Euphemia in a half-laugh as she began to run her wildly moving fingers over his sides. Lelouch fought, he truly did, but the devil's fingers knew no pause. Lelouch burst out in laughter as he tried to get his sister off. "Euphie! Stop it, this isn't funny! We've got to go find Nunnally anyways!"

Logic and reason be damned, Euphemia would get what she wanted. "~But Lulu, you haven't been yourself lately. You owe me two weeks' worth of Lulu time at this point, you've been neglectful!"

Wondering how Euphemia had even learned the meaning of the word neglectful, Lelouch tried to rock back and forth as his torture continued, now mixed with unwilling tears of laughter as he fought to get his sister off him. "Alright, alright, I swear I'll act normal again. For the love of Eowyn, just STOP! Please!"

Having claimed what she wanted, Euphemia slowly got off the now-spent Lelouch as he grunted in approval. After having dusted himself off, Lelouch turned towards Euphemia, face cast downwards and hidden by his hair. "Euphie…."he muttered, eyes invisible to her.

"Lulu! I thought you said you would snap out of it!" responded an indignant Euphemia. All that effort, and for nothing! Turning his face up, Euphemia noticed the face-splitting grin plastered on Lelouch's face. She didn't notice the twinkle in his eyes that should have been a sign to book it and run. "Thank you. For putting up with me," Unknown to them, Jeremiah had finally managed to hear their voices after having spent the last ten minutes looking for them and was now slowly walking towards where he could hear their voices, obscured by trees. He was taking his time; it was clear the two were playing and didn't want to be disturbed. Perhaps the young princess had even made a breakthrough in his prince's harsh disposition?

"…But now, I've got to return the favor," cackled Lelouch as Euphemia's face quickly went pale and her eyes widened. But it was too late, for Lelouch had managed to push her backwards into another dense patch of grass and had her legs pinned with his own. The smirk on his face was beginning to terrify her, and Euphemia was starting to panic. She was about to get revenge dished out first-hand, and Lelouch had always been an 'Eye for an eye', even when he was 6 after she accidentally pushed him into a pond in the Aries Villa. He had pulled out a toad and dropped in on top of her head, and she had fainted. She woke up a few minutes later to the sight of a cackling Marianne, a fuming Cornelia, and a much more apologetic Lelouch with a bump on the back of his head. Nunnally had been eyeing Cornelia with deer in headlights look for the next two weeks.

At his young prince's words, Jeremiah paused, shrugged, and continued walking. Odd choice of words to be sure, but they had to be taken out of context.

"Ah! No! Don-Oh God!"

"Yeah! How do you like it now!"

"It…It feel-AH!"

"Come on Euphie, answer me! From that smile on your face, you'd think you were enjoying this!"

"No! It's not like tha-," a high pitched shriek cut through the woods as odd sounds, grunting and squealing, could be heard beyond the trees.

Jeremiah was rooted to the ground, eyes bulging and mouth slack as he looked in the direction of the two siblings. _There's no way….,_ thought the paralyzed guard.

"No, stop! If you keep it up, I'm going to-" Cue more high pitched shrieaks, and Jeremiah began to walk a bit faster.

"But isn't it what you want? I'm only returning the FAVOR after all!"

Jeremiah's steps turned into a fast-walk.

"No! Not like this! I can't!"

Jeremiah broke out into a light jog.

"What's the matter? Worried what the others will think if they found out what happens? You should have thought of that when you were doing this to ME!"

Jeremiah's jog turned into a run.

"Stop! Stop! I'm about to-!"

Jeremiah's run turned into a sprint as he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"MY PRINCE! STOP! YOU MUSTN'T!"

Breaking into the clearing, Jeremiah saw a sweaty and disheveled Euphemia panting with reddened cheeks, and Lelouch had a diabolical grin on his face. Lelouch was lying top of Euphemia, and his hands were gripping her sides, preventing her escape.

"Jeremiah, stay out of this. You have no idea how badly I want this," responded Lelouch as Euphemia shot the young guard a pleading look for help.

"No, my prince! I can't allow you to do that! It's inappropriate!" shouted out Jeremiah, who was currently sweating bullets.

That made Lelouch stop. "What's so inappropriate about a tickle fight?"

Jeremiah looked on in shock…mentally berating himself all the while and swearing to himself that he would never open a dirty magazine again.

"…Nothing, my prince, I was wrong. I was looking for you because it's almost time for dinner…" replied Jeremiah weakly.

"Oh, alright. Thank you, Jeremiah." The prince slowly got up off his sister and offered a hand, helping her to her feet. As soon as she was up, Euphemia quickly took her hand back and smacked him. "Lulu! You almost made me pee!"

Realizing that there was a witness, she blushed scarlet and refused to look at him, instead focusing her anger on her brother, who wouldn't be her brother for very long at this rate because he'd be dead for pulling stunts like this.

Grinning lopsidedly, Lelouch kept walking as Euphemia fumed, but shrugging, ran up to catch up with him as Jeremiah picked up the pace. Losing them once was bad enough, he had no interested in a repeat…_performance_.

* * *

/_After Dinner That Night_/

* * *

Lelouch had called Jeremiah into his room, and surprisingly, Nunnally was there too. He had been expecting to receive further instructions in what to do with the vi Britannia assets. While most of it was legally property of solely the Emperor, the Villa included, there were some things, such as Marianne's pay from serving as the Knight of Two, or things that had been bought by Marianne herself, that were directly inherited by Lelouch. 2 million pounds and a few pieces of furniture were comparatively little to an offspring of Charles zi Britannia, but Lelouch had been actively inverting that money and splitting up what wasn't invested amongst Japanese and Britannian banks. That the young prince had learned enough in three and a half months so as to independently invert his remaining wealth quite frankly blew Jeremiah's mind away at the prince's intelligence. All of these decisions had been kept from his sister, to his knowledge, because she was too young to be interested, let alone realize the impact of them. The boy had told him that the money was being invested 'just in case' things don't turn out exactly as planned.

"What do you wish of me, my prince?" asked Jeremiah.

Lelouch sat quietly on the couch, contemplating his words as he held his sister's hand. Finally, he began. "As you know, Nunnally and I will soon leave for Japan. I will cut to the chase; I want you to come with us."

Shocked was one word that could be used to describe Jeremiah at that moment. Baffled was another. "Not to question you, my prince, but why would you and your sister need a guard? Surely Prime Minister Kururugi will ensure your safety, as his guests?"

"It is not from Japan that I fear for my sister's safety. No, I fear that what happened to my mother…will come back to finish what it started."

At these words, Jeremiah understood perfectly. The prince remained guarded, even after all these months without incident. "I see. Yes, I shall accompany you, my prince, for as long as you will have me as your guard."

Nodding at his words, Lelouch spoke his one remaining doubt. "Excellent. I would have you knighted-" At this, Jeremiah's eyes widened and his heart beat went wild, "But circumstances prevent that currently. Know that once it is feasible, you will receive your due. Know that as much as you are my Knight, you are my sister's as well" At this, Jeremiah's pulse blood pressure went down, but only slightly. To a Britannian, knighthood to one of the royals was the highest honor possible, only short of being a Knight of the Round. To be a knight to two…well, it was simply unheard of, but in a good way.

"I assure you, my lieges, it is fine," breathed out Jeremiah once he felt he had enough composure to do so. "On to other matters then," continued the boy prince. "While I do not doubt your abilities in the slightest, Jeremiah, I need someone else. One man cannot guard two people, who will at times be forced to separate. Do you have any ideas who you could trust, that you have the utmost faith and confidence to protect me and my sister, should you give the word?"

Temporarily stumped, Jeremiah's eyes glazed over as he contemplated the question. There were only two candidates that came to mind, Villeta Nu, and Kewell Soresi, his friends and fellow graduates from the same military class. Kewell and Villetta were both currently assigned to the 3rd Home Army, currently stationed in the County of Vancouver. While not a doomed career per se, as they would undoubtedly see action what with the current war with the European Union soon enough, any rise in rank would be slow and undoubtedly take time. The question was which to choose; Kewell was his best friend and the better shot, but Villetta was more disciplined and a better tactician. For the specific role of security, Villeta was undoubtedly the better candidate, and such, his choice was made. It pained him, to basically have the decision of elevating one friend and damning the other out of a position that they were easily both qualified for. Perhaps one day, Kewell would forgive him.

"I have a candidate in mind, my lieges."

/_Current Day, An Hour From Japan/_

It was for this reason that Villetta Nu currently found herself opposite Nunnally vi Britannia on the flight bound to Japan. Upon hearing the boy prince's offer over the phone, she had jumped upon it as like a starving predator. Thankfully, Kewell didn't know that they had been promised knighthood; and so he thought himself the lucky on, not being sent to Japan? Jeremiah shook his head at the thought. What could possibly go wrong? They'd be here for a few years, and they would return the Homeland, knighted and proud to serve the vi Britannias.

"How much longer, big brother?"

Ah, yes. Nunnally, bless her little heart, had recovered enough that she had basically returned to being Marianne in light brown-haired chibi form. Sadly for her cabin mates, it included the impatience that came with it. Lelouch could only imagine what would happen if Nunnally were forced to use a wheelchair, even for a week; He would go mad.

"Don't worry Nunnally, we're almost there. You'll see."

Even angry and raging, Lelouch's heart melted at his sister's voice, even when she was being slightly obnoxious. The same couldn't be said for Villetta, who had been the target of most of the little brunette's inquiries the whole trip. The twitching eye spoke for itself, and Jeremiah inwardly wondered if it had been such a good idea to bring Villetta along instead of Kewell. Thinking about what would happen if loud, proud, brash, and stubborn Kewell met Lelouch made him instantly stop that line of thought. They'd be lucky if the two didn't kill each other within the week.

Oh how Jeremiah's thoughts kept foreshadowing, this time about a certain little Japanese boy that would drive his liege up the wall.

The next hour passed more or less silently, save for Nunnally's occasional breaking the silence. In that time, Lelouch's mind had wandered back to earlier yesterday, when they had said goodbye to their siblings.

Euphemia had been crying uncontrollably, Cornelia gnawing her lip off as she held Euphie back from chasing after her two departing siblings. It was clear that she too wanted to stop the two from departing, but knew she had no choice. The embraces and kisses the two sisters had given the two would simply not tide over the pain they felt within their hearts at seeing them go. Schneizel had shown up and had embraced Nunnally, trying to comfort her, and had slipped a piece of paper into Lelouch's hand as he offered him his hand to shake, finally pulling him into a brief but meaningful hug and wishing him the best; he had made it clear point-blank that he would do his best to ensure the two returned swiftly, with all the power he could muster as Prime Minister. It was Clovis that had surprised Lelouch the most; his eyes had been wet and angry the entire time, and his disgust at what was happening had been clear on his face. But it wasn't that which shocked him the most, no, it was when Clovis had clasped the two departing siblings together into a hug when he had whispered into Lelouch's ears. "Rest assured little brother, I will see you return. Even if I have to topple the Emperor himself and take the crown to see it done."

Those words had been haunting Lelouch the entire trip. To topple the Emperor? It was surely a very far-fetched idea. He was one of the most firmly entrenched Emperors in Britannian history, now more so than ever that the technology existed to better safeguard him, not to mention his Knights of the Round. Yes, admittedly, the Emperor had toppled his father in order to take the crown, AND had killed off the vast majority of his siblings; the few that had escaped were in hiding, as not even foreign nations such as the Chinese Federation or the EU would shelter them. But his acts had precedence, right by conquest had occurred a few times throughout Britannian history. The biggest question was if Clovis was truly contemplating it. Clovis was by no means incompetent; he was the picture of the modern-day Renaissance man. He was talented in the arts, in the sciences, had a knack for wordplay, and was even a decent fencer. While by no means without flaws, Clovis would make for a competent Emperor, assuming his obsession with painting didn't draw him away from governing. It was more a question of whether Clovis could manage to take the throne in the first place; their father was in his 60s, but frankly acted like he was in the prime of his life. It was highly probable that he would live into his 80s, maybe even beyond. And for a man like Charles, handing the throne would be unthinkable. He would simply have to be either overthrown or be forced to name a formal successor, something he so far had refused to do.

Then there was the competition itself; Schneizel was undoubtedly top of the list. While by no means a dab hand at the arts or at combat, Schneizel was a man who's tongue the devil would envy and a man with genius intellect. He could cut for an imposing figure, and his influence as Prime Minister ran deep. He was without a doubt the most likely successor. Then there was Odysseus, Crown Prince, and presumable heir to the throne. While a gentle man and therefore the antithesis of whom the Emperor would approve of, he'd make a competent placeholder Emperor as well, and was the favorite amongst many nobles who saw a lax hand as their best bet in strengthening their own power. And that was only scratching the surface of it; Lelouch had far more siblings than he cared to think of that could possibly contend for the throne, some of whom were undoubtedly sticking to the shadows or hiding their abilities for now. It was partly why Lelouch had been kept out of the public eye for so long; Marianne hadn't wanted him to become the pawn of a noble and had wanted him to grow up happy and with peace of mind. Then there was the fact that most of his siblings remained within their teenage years. The battle for the throne would only heat up as more and more became adults.

_So much for that_ _idea about a peaceful life mother, but thank you for trying,_ thought Lelouch remorsefully.

Lelouch's current reverie would have to be contemplated at a later time as he felt the bottom of the plane touch solid ground. It was time.

* * *

/_Three Hours Later/_

* * *

Their reception hadn't been extravagant, but was by no means rude. They were met by several representatives of Prime Minister Kururugi and had been informed that they would be living at his estate, to their surprise. They had been met by surprisingly solid English-speaking representatives and already the collective opinion of the small group of Britannian expats was surprisingly positive. The car they were riding in was a black limousine, supposedly used only when ambassadors were on their way to meet with the Prime Minister. They were currently very close to the Prime Minister's estate, having just reached a mountain the representatives referred to as Mount Fuji.

In the meantime, the representatives had filled them in on a lot of information they would have to know. While they were no prisoners, they would have to inform the Kururugi family whenever they chose to leave the estate, they would not be permitted to carry armaments within the estates(much to Villeta's consternation), that though many individuals within the estates were more or less proficient in English, but that they would be expected to learn Japanese, and finally, that they would be sharing a rather spacious single room. That had made Villeta cringe. _Stuck with two brats and _Jeremiah_ of all people? Somebody, anybody! Save me!_ The representatives had been quick to assure them that they would have dividers available at seeing Villeta's panicked expression.

Finally, the car came to a halt and the driver announced that they had arrived at the Kururugi Shrine. Before them was a rather large estate and in front of them was a small welcoming party. The most notable individual was a tall man with bushy eyebrows and a stern expression on his face. He appeared to be fairly fit, and wore Western-style clothing. Behind him was a small girl that seemed to be hiding behind the man dressed in a small kimono. Next to him, decked out in traditional Japanese clothing was a boy whose brown hair matched the color of the bigger man's. Besides them was an old man leaning on a cane, also dressed in traditional clothing. Lelouch swallowed in trepidation; the older man was most likely the Prime Minister.

It was to his surprise that the tall man greeted him with hand outstretched, introducing himself as Genbu Kururugi, Prime Minister of Japan. Also greeting Nunnally courteously, he nodded his head at the two bodyguards, asking for their names and giving polite greetings in turn. This was not what Lelouch had expected from a man with such a serious expression.

He had then proceeded to try and introduce the remainder of the people with him, and that, was when everything went to hell in a handbasket. First up had been Taizo Kirihara, owner of Kirihara Industries. The man was polite, friendly even, but distrusting. It was obvious he did not agree with the idea of housing them in the Kururugi Shrine. Next had been the little girl, introduced as Kaguya Sumeragi. She had remained quiet the entire time, eyeing them all nervously, until her eyes met Lelouch. Then her face had turned red, and she hid her face deeper into the man's pants, much to his amusement. Finally, he had introduced his son, Suzaku. He introduced himself in acceptable English and had greeted Nunnally courteously, but had shot Lelouch a look of dislike. It was clear he had some issues with him being here as well, and Lelouch had no problems returning the favor.

"That's enough, you two," broke in Genbu. "Let us head inside; it's time for dinner."

Dinner wasn't what the Britannian expats had been expecting. For one, the table was low. So low that the Prime Minister didn't have chairs, but rather, small mats called tatami in Japanese. That wouldn't have been so bad, until they were told they had to sit on their haunches; Lelouch knew he was in hell. Then there was the food; all of it was fairly alien, and they were expected to eat with wooden sticks? Looking to his left and right, he saw that neither his sister nor his bodyguards were having much more luck than him. Genbu was carrying on conversation with Jeremiah at this point, mainly that he'd have to drop off the guns the two bodyguards were carrying in his office later. Kaguya was eating rapidly, making him double-take at the sheer velocity someone could eat with 'chopsticks'. Kirihara was eating quietly but diligently as he listed to the Prime Minister go onto a tangent about his appreciation for Britannian liquors, and Villetta was doing her best to explain to Nunnally what the way to eat with chopsticks was while failing miserably to do so herself. Suzaku meanwhile, was taking a great enjoyment in seeing Lelouch struggle. Despite only having known Lelouch for all of half an hour, he was confident that the pampered Britannian brat's pride wouldn't let him ask for a spoon. The worst part was, Lelouch knew what he was thinking, and even worse than that, that he was right.

He was broken from contemplating how to murder with his eyes alone when Nunnally's voice broke in. "Excuse me, Mr. Kururugi? Would you happen to have a spoon I could borrow?" asked Nunnally timidly.

Genbu's face broke into a wide grin at her words, telling her to check under the table. Moving her hand underneath, she felt cold metal on top of the polished wooden floors, and pulled out what she had touched. Four metal spoons greeted her eyes. "I was curious when one of you would eventually ask. Making you to eat solely with chopsticks on your first day in Japan would simply be too cruel." Taking the hint, Nunnally handed out a spoon to each of the Britannians at the table as they all proceeded to eat. All but one, as he steadfastly continued to futilely try and eat with chopsticks. Genbu once more laughed. "I don't know who's stubborn, you or my son. Both of you are as thick as foundation this place is built on."

Both boys took their first shared action as they both gave Genbu indignant glances. Irony is, both were more indignant at being compared to each other than to being called thick. Still slightly annoyed, Lelouch reached for the spoon as the door to the dining room slid open. "Forgive me for being late, Prime Minister. The dojo was left filthy," shifting his eyes slightly to Suzaku, "-and I lost track of time."

"No worries Tohdoh, allow me to introduce our guests. The young boy and girl are Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia, respectively, and their two guards, Jeremiah Gottwald and Villeta Nu. My guests, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, lieutenant colonel of the Japanese military and Suzaku's personal instructor."

Bowing slightly in greeting, he took one of the remaining empty seats and quietly began to eat as his eyes slowly glanced over each of the newcomers, eyes finally stopping on Lelouch. "So you are the boy prince, my newest pupil."

Eyebrow rising, Lelouch was about to ask what he was talking about before being beaten to the punch by Genbu. "In the mornings, you will be joining Tohdoh and Suzaku in the dojo, where you will undergo physical training. Afterwards, your tutor will arrive and teach you and your sister what you would normally be required to know, by Britannian schooling standards, as well as teaching you both Japanese. You will have the afternoons off to yourselves." Turning his head towards Tohdoh, he continued. "I actually hadn't had the chance to inform him of his schedule yet."

Lelouch absorbed it fairly well; they were not asking much of him, just that he learn their language and continue his studies, all the while his brain steadfastly refused to acknowledge the part about physical exercise. Nunnally appeared to be fine with it, and it went unspoken that Jeremiah and Villeta would be there to keep an eye on them. "Any questions? No? Excellent, I'll have one of the maids show you to your room; I'm sure you must be tired from such a long journey."

Five minutes later found the four in their room; the aide hadn't been kidding when he said it was spacious. There was enough room that had there been proper walls, four small rooms would have comfortably fit. Taking the initiative, Villeta quickly began to hang the wall dividers from the ceiling. By the time she was finished, she had her own third of the room to herself, while the two siblings would share most of the space. Jeremiah had opted to set up his own area in the corner, leaving himself only enough room for a bed and dresser to barely fit. Finally, they had put some dividers to block off view of the two siblings directly from the door.

Lelouch had almost gotten indignant on Jeremiah's behalf until said man cut him off by telling him that with the way the room was set up, Villeta was in a perfect position to guard them while Jeremiah was a barrier in between the two siblings any potential intruders. This had appeased the prince, and the unpacking began. Four small dressers were in the rooms, as well as four 'futons' and they had quickly been dealt out. The two futons the vi Britannia siblings would use were positioned right next to each other, as Nunnally had insisted. Once the unpacking was completed and the room was more or less ready, the four took turns in another small alcove that they had formed using dividers and changed into their nightwear. After a quick visit to the bathroom to take care of his ablutions, Lelouch muttered goodnight and plopped into the floor-level bed, his sister already in her own. Tired and exhausted, Lelouch was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

The next day had seen Lelouch rudely awakened by the angry Japanese boy. Poking his side with his foot, he hissed at him. "Hurry up. You are late, Tohdoh is angry." Lelouch cracked open bleary eyes and looked up to see the frustrated boy taking his leave past Jeremiah, who was only now rousing from his sleep as the boy marched out. Eyebrow twitching at the fact that his guard had failed to stop an intruder, and a ten-year old intruder at that, Lelouch tried to get up and rush out to meet his instructor. Or at least, he would have until he realized that his sister had him in a death grip. Arms wrapped around him, he realized that the two had met halfway where the two futons met and that they were now in a tangled pile of arms. Nunnally's head was resting on his shoulder and had an arm wrapped around his chest. Lelouch's own arms were trapped under Nunnally, and the other holding her head, respectively. Lelouch decided to take the easiest way out and slowly tried to wake Nunnally. Grumpy eyes opened to meet his own. "What time is it?" asked the grumpy owner of said grumpy eyes.

"No idea, but sorry for waking you. I have to go meet Tohdoh, he's waiting outside." Shifting off his shoulder, Nunnally tried to go back to sleep as Lelouch stood up and grabbed the clothes that he had found inside one of the dressers. Rushing towards the alcove, he found Jeremiah to already be there, dressed in his own larger version of the clothes. Answering his liege's unspoken question, he answered "Tohdoh took me aside after and told me that he expects me to be dressed suitably if I am to keep watch over you while you're in the dojo." The slightly distasteful expression on his face spoke clearly of his dislike of the strange clothing.

Nodding, Lelouch hurriedly dashed into the alcove and dressed, making a few mistakes as he tried to slip on the alien clothing. Finally satisfied he had it on right, Lelouch slipped out and walked briskly towards the room exit, Jeremiah on his heels. Leaning on the wall directly across the door was Tohdoh, Suzaku at his feet doing sit ups. "Good, you're here. I've had Suzaku doing sit ups since he got back from waking you. By my count, he's at six and a half minutes; you'll be doing double that later." Lelouch could only whimper at the thought as he followed his new instructor and his out of breath pupil.

After walking for a few minutes they came to a stop in front of a small building. Opening the doors, Tohdoh lead them inside to find polished wooden floors and wooden swords resting on the walls. Turning towards the young prince, he began. "I am going to be teaching you the Japanese art of self-defense. You will need three things to learn; dedication, strength, and the ability to take punishment and come back for more." Turning to Jeremiah, he continued, "If you wish, you may join the prince in his training. Otherwise, I will ask you to sit against the far wall over there." Nodding, Jeremiah responded, "I believe I will watch at first. If it's as strenuous as you say, then I will have to know what to expect; if I am too tired to guard my prince, then I am a failure as a guard, my duty first of all above all others."

Nodding approvingly, Tohdoh waited until Jeremiah had sat down before beginning. What would follow would haunt Lelouch's nightmares for the rest of his life; Kyoshiro Tohdoh had earned his unending fear for his life after the first day; by the end of the week Lelouch would only be able to dream about his life before Japan and wonder if a world without pain and exhaustion was just that, a dream. Of course, Suzaku would inevitably show up in those dreams and mock him for his lack of physical abilities. That boy was a monster; anything Tohdoh threw at him he would do perfectly, and he wouldn't show a sign of exhaustion until Tohdoh announced their training over for the day. But the entire time, he would hold a smirk on his face that would haunt Lelouch and made the training twice as unbearable. Tohdoh threw more exercises at Suzaku for his lack of self-control, but Suzaku didn't mind, as long as he could continue to torture the prince with his damnable smirk.

After being physically defeated, Lelouch had gone to meet his sister, and awaited the arrival of their tutor. He had been regaling his sister with tales of his inhumane torture, to her amusement, when a soft knock was heard on the door. Getting up with a wince, Lelouch hobbled his way to the door and slid it open. A Japanese teenager with dark brown hair and pretty yellow eyes met his gaze and smiled politely. She was dressed in a maid's outfit but had the eyes of a predator; Lelouch's stomach knotted into a ball. If Tohdoh was anything to go by, the Japanese were going to kill him through sheer exhaustion. Bowing deeply, the woman spoke in fluent English, "Hello, my name is Sayoko, and I shall be your tutor and guard for your remainder of your stay in Japan. I'm pleased to meet you," she finished, with a small smile and tilted head.

Sayoko, much to his surprise, was not trying to kill him. Well-learned and friendly, she had begun teaching Nunnally multiplication tables and had introduced Lelouch the basics of Calculus; he had taken over from there, to her slight surprise. Sheltered he may have been, but ignorant, not even close. She was also a very patient Japanese instructor, taking the time to teach them the many nuances and minor points that would ensure that they spoke it well. Or at least, that's what she hoped, for today was only their first lesson. Villeta and Jeremiah had started paying attention once the Japanese lessons began. After several hours, she had decided that it was enough, and with the same gentle smile, said goodbye to the pair and proceeded to leave the room. During that time, the settled down and relaxed. Lelouch decided pulled out the chess set he cherished so dearly and began what he had been doing just before their mother's death; teaching Nunnally chess.

An hour later, they would join the Kururugi family for lunch, after which Genbu had ushered the three children into the gardens and insisted that they play together. Suzaku had just sneered lightly at that when his father had turned away to go back inside and had wandered off. Lelouch had shrugged and decided to play hide and seek with Nunnally.

The months carried on as such in a lazy routine. Jeremiah had decided to join Lelouch in the third day of his physical training(read: torture sessions) and had taken to them with gusto. After the third week or so, Nunnally had decided to join in, and Villetta's hand was forced; she too joined in with Tohdoh's grueling training sessions. Lelouch and Nunnally had become proficient enough in Japanese in those three weeks that they could hold rudimentary conversations amongst themselves; surprisingly, it was Villetta that was most proficient amongst the four Britannian expats in Japanese. She was able to converse easily with Genbu and the young children. In the meantime, Kirihara's distrust has gradually eased, to the point where he was openly conversing with the Britannians at the dinner table whenever he was present; as an advisor to Prime Minister Kururugi, his face was a common sight in the Kururugi Shrine. Kaguya had managed to overcome her shyness towards the funny looking foreigners and the handsome boy, and had proven to be quite bold and friendly; she and Nunnally had quickly become good friends and she had made it a habit to go and play with the two siblings after lunch. She would have to leave early though, because as the last Sumeragi, she had to attend additional etiquette and business lessons, the fact that she was seven be damned. Orphaned in an industrial accident when her parents had been touring one of their manufacturing plants, she had been delivered to the house of her uncle, and under Kirihara's guidance, she was to be raised to assume her role as the heiress of the Sumeragi conglomerate.

Sayoko had become much closer to the two siblings and had begun doting on them not long after their classes had begun. She took a great joy in casually teasing Lelouch and doting on Nunnally as though she were the little sister she never had. She had told them that her remaining family, her parents, lived in Nagoya and that she left once a week to visit them. She had also found a good friend in Villetta; being the only (adult) woman that Villetta interacted with, she had grasped on her like a lifeline, and Sayoko had been very willing to be that lifeline; the two could often be found chatting away, and Sayoko had quickly become a very regular visitor to the Britannian expats' room.

She had also incidentally dropped an interesting piece of information about Milly. She had told them that she had been considering applying for a position as a maid to the Ashfords before deciding that she would rather work in the home of the Prime Minister. She had gone for interviews and had even been around Ashford Academy, which had triggered Lelouch's curiosity.

"Old man Ashford told me that he would be building a school here on his way out of Britannia, how could he have built an entire school in three months?" wondered Lelouch aloud. "Oh, you didn't know?" inquired Sayoko, "-Ashford Academy has been around since 1917 a.t.b., about ten years after Commodore Perry arrived in Japan. It's the oldest non-Japanese school in Japan, and also the preferred choice of Britannian expats. Who knows, you may even go there someday." Lelouch could only muse more at this unexpected piece of information. While he had absolute faith in the Ashfords, he'd certainly have some question for the old man once he saw him again.

The only person that Lelouch had yet to be able to relate to, or even get along with, was Suzaku. The boy had continued to ignore him whenever possible, unless they were at the dojo, where it appeared that his suffering only served to fuel Suzaku's perfection in physical capabilities. Three weeks in, things changed.

It was only as the sun was going down that said boy had appeared and confronted him. He had been in the middle of sneaking away from Nunnally in another game of hide and seek when Suzaku came around to ruin the game, and his day. "Why are you even here, Britannian?" Looking at Suzaku with clear distaste, Lelouch replied "None of your business. Why were you so rude to me from the beginning?" Not one to beat around the bush, Suzaku was straight and to the point. "I don't like you. You're a spoiled royal brat and have a better-than-thou attitude, and you care for nobody but the Britannians with you."

Lelouch could only stare at the boy, but he wasn't going to deny a word. He knew fully well that as a royal, he had a far more spoiled upbringing than others would. He knew he had an attitude; that kind of went with being a royal. And the last one was the most obvious. Despite his pleasant demeanor, for the most part, he truly did not want to be in Japan. If he had his way, he'd be back in Britannia with his siblings(although maybe he'd bring Sayoko with them). And so he said nothing, starting calmly at the boy, who only got more and more riled up as he tried to hold his frustration with the indifferent Britannian boy back. Finally fed up, the boy let loose a yell as he punched Lelouch in the gut. Lelouch fell like a sack of bricks, and Suzaku looked at his hand in shock. He hadn't meant to hit him…although he didn't exactly feel sorry at the moment.

THWACK!

Now, he was certainly sorry. Standing over him was the boy's 7-year-old sister, fist in the air. She had hit him squarely in the back of the head, and he was now flat on the ground next to the Lelouch, face-first in mud. "Apologize, now!" shouted Nunnally. Gentle and sweet at times, but a scarily intimidating demon the next; yep, Nunnally had certainly recovered from her mother's death if she was back to dishing out punches on her brother's behalf. Granted, the only person she had ever hit was Clovis, but that's simply semantics.

"You too, brother!" Now Lelouch looked up at his sister in incredulity. She wanted him to apologize to _him?_ Seeing his expression, Nunnally continued. "You've both been mean to each other since we got here! Knock it off, get along, and become friends! I'm not moving till you two are bestest friends!" Knowing a lost battle when confronted with one, Lelouch's head turned to meet Suzaku, who's mud-covered face was already facing him. Nodding in defeat, Suzaku stretched out his hand. "Hello, I'm Suzaku Kururugi, I'm 10 years old, Japanese, and currently in denial that your little sister just decked me." Blushing at his words(_It was supposed to just make him listen to me! I'm not violent!)_, Nunnally turned expectantly to her brother. Stretching out his hand as well, Lelouch took Suzaku's offered hand and shook it. "I'm Lelouch vi Britannia. I'm also 10 years old; I like my siblings, my guards, and Sayoko. Right now, I can't feel my stomach."

At his words, a slight smirk appeared on Suzaku's face. Lelouch's face twitched in annoyance until his attention was once more brought back to Suzaku's mud covered face. The outside of his lips almost unnoticeably turned upwards. That was all it took for the two to burst in laughter, laughing at each other heartily. Nunnally even joined in with their laughter, having realized what the two were laughing at. "Oh my god! Your face! You look so funny with all that mud on you, like you just crawled out of a warzone!"

"Me? Have you seen how weak you are? I barely even hit you and you folded like a house of cards!"

Having broken their handshake, the two continued laughing, tears running down their faces in glee at the ridiculousness of it all. Lelouch was pounding the ground with his fists while Suzaku was kicking his legs in the air. Finally snapping out of their amusing hysteria, the two used each other as support to get back on their feet. Together the three walked back slowly towards the Kururugi Shrine, but halfway there, Nunnally tagged both of the boys on their backs and ran off. "Not it!" she shouted.

Looking at each other and nodding, the two began chasing after a laughing Nunnally doing their best to corner her. The three would have played the night away, the sun having long fallen, until Genbu himself came out to drag the three back in sometime around 11. They had long since missed supper but neither of the three cared, for it was on this day that the three planted the seeds of an unshakeable friendship; it was truly a night that would change the world.

The day when the Caliphate declared war on both Persia and Rome, or the day when the leaders of Washington's Rebellion came together to proclaim the Bill of Rights and their independence from Britannia; When Constantinople fell, or the day of Cnut's invasion of Britannia came; none of these days would rival the significance, the world-changing effects that this day would hold in the hearts of the three children, whose friendship would soon be forged into something unbreakable via baptism of fire. It was only years later that the three would realize the irony of the expression, 'Their friendship meant the world to them.' It was a phrase that would be proven to be true, time and time again.

Lelouch had quickly fallen in love, from that day onward. She was beautiful, she was calm, peaceful, and managed to make him forget the pain that he had experienced in Britannia. Her name was Japan. The little island nation had managed to rob him of all of his worries as his life had become one free of stress, free of the weight and tension he had been forced to experience back home from his mother's death onward. The days were routine; and yet that was what Lelouch had valued the most out of them. They were normal, and they were happy, and that was what meant the world to him.

His happiness was there for the rest of the Kururugi Shrine's residents to see; Kirihara had come to care for Lelouch and Nunnally almost as much as he did for Suzaku. He had become very fond of Nunnally, claiming that he saw some of what he saw in his own daughter in her. Suzaku and Kaguya were great, friendly to the two siblings, and the closest friends they had ever had, outside of their family. He had even managed to surpass Milly due to just how much time the three were able to spend time together; from dawn to dusk almost everything they did was together. "Lelouch and Suzaku," Genbu had remarked over dinner, "are the closest friends I have ever seen in my life," Much to the two boys' embarrassment and much happy laughter at the table.

Lelouch had even managed to convince the man to let him invite his sister Euphemia over to visit; he knew she was by far the most anxious of his siblings to visit him and Nunnally. Perhaps he'd invite Clovis over later on. After having had Genbu clear it with all the right diplomatic channels, the princess was set to arrive on August 7th, 2010 a.t.b. Pulling off a further coup, he had managed to convince the man to allow Milly to visit the Kururugi Shrine for the first time.

When they had arrived, it had been glorious. While Euphemia's visit would only last a week, the two reunited girls had spent every waking moment with the two siblings. They had even insisted on positioning their futons next to the two siblings' beds; the end results, as you can imagine, are very predictable; Lelouch woke up drowning in a pile of female limbs every one of those days the two had been there. The now 10-year-old Euphemia had wasted no time in keeling the two siblings over the first time she had seen them; thankfully they had been sitting on their futons at the time, or they had no doubt a piece of the Kururugi manor would have a large hole in it. Milly, now recently turned 13, had been quiet shy and awkward around Lelouch for the first day, despite wasting no time giving him a crushing hug and a kiss on the cheek. He was completely unused to a red-faced, nervous Ashford heiress, and he was glad that she had returned to her normal self after the first day. The two had also both taken a liking to Suzaku and Kaguya, and the six children had wasted no time in playing their days away; Tohdoh, miracle of miracles, had even given them the week off from training so that they could enjoy that time to their fullest.

That entire week had promised to be a magical time for Lelouch and Nunnally. Truthfully, the first three days had been. It most likely would have been, were it not for one little thing.

Peace would soon be shattered for the two young siblings, as Britannian bombs began falling on Tokyo on the beginning of the fourth day.

* * *

AN: Glad to have my latest installment out, and so ends the Prologue. Now that we've covered the background of everything that needs to be covered, expect action, knightmares, and the Earl of Pudding coming to a future near you.

Things to note; I've de-aged only one character, Cornelia. In the original timeline, she's as old as Schneizel, 27, and 20 when Marianne dies. I made her 16 when Marianne died, and there's a very good reason for this. No, at the moment, my reasoning has nothing to do with the harem.

I've also completely reorganized the Areas; Japan is still Area 11, obviously. Here's my modified take on the Areas, to suit history and geography over random groupings, such as having all of South America under one Area but having Greenland or Iceland as their own individual Areas. So without further ado;

Area 1: Quebec, capital Montreal

Area 2: Mexico, capital Mexico City

Area 3: Caribbean basin, capital Havana

Area 4: Artic territories, capital Reykjavik

Area 5: Colombia, capital Bogota

Area 6: Peru, capital Lima

Area 7: Hawaii and Pacific Islands, capital Honolulu

Area 8: La Plata, capital Buenos Aires

Area 9: Brazil, capital Rio de Janeiro

Area 10: New Zealand, capital Auckland

As of yet not fully incorporated:

The Philippines

Papua

Next, there are many, many references and snide allusions to the original plot of Code Geass. A cookie to whoever can list me the most.

Let's see…what else is there to cover. Ah yes; with this chapter, I'm close once again to nearly doubling the amount of words in the story. This is getting kinda crazy, no? This should be about the biggest my chapters will get though, and it's part of the reason why it wasn't out yesterday, or rather, earlier today.

Before anyone calls in saying that my characters are acting out of character, think about how they're acting, and think about what they've experienced differently than they did in the original timeline. I'll give an example; Nunnally's not crippled and utterly dependent on her brother, therefore, she's far more outgoing. Jeremiah and Villetta have yet to face the horrors of war, or had to suppress the Japanese, so they're far less jaded and much more tolerant of Japan, and even accepting of it.

Sayoko is really the only one that could be reasonably argued is being OOC, but that's mainly because we have no background on Sayoko; I have to work with more or less nothing here.

Anyways, thank you for reading, please review with your feedback, criticism, whatever. You know, and I know, that I want to hear/see it.

And since I haven't done this yet so far, I don't own Code Geass. Nope, not even a little bit.


	5. Chapter 5: Hijacked Hijacking

**Chapter 5: Hijacked Hijacking**

* * *

_Fire raged in front of a huddled mass of children as they watched the flames lick the sky in shock and disbelief_

_A brown-haired boy beat his fist against the ground while tears streamed down his face, silently crying his grief_

_Hunkered down in a run-down shack, the earth shook while the sky was ablaze_

_Two boys and a girl slowly hobbled through a ruin; thirsty, starved, and defeated_

_People sprinted as fast as they could as the sky lit up and bullets soared over their heads_

_A young woman stood in front of a giant machine while children sat against the wall, terrified_

_A desolate field covered in bodies as far as the eye could see dotted the landscape. The group, huddled and scared, slowly trudged through._

_A foot tinted red stepped on a body. Blood, organs and an unbearable stench oozed out under the pressure as a haze of insects descended to feast on the now exposed flesh….-_

Amethyst eyes snapped open with a sharp gasp and heartbeat pounding. Soaked in cold sweat, the teen wearily covered his eyes with a hand, trying to suppress the dream back to the bottom reaches of his mind.

_The blood…the rot…_

Taking a deep breath, the teen tried to slow his racing heart. As his pulse slowed, a thought came unbidden to the teenager's mind, a small grin beginning to slowly appear on his aristocratic features. Even horrid nightmares couldn't keep his mood from rising, pushing it out of his mind entirely. Today was the day he would see Euphemia and Kaguya, for the first time in months.

_Today is going to be a good day after all.  
_

* * *

_Governor's Palace, Area 11_

Euphemia li Britannia hummed a cheery tune to herself as she stepped into the glistening bathroom. The trip to Japan had been long, per usual, but the discomfort was always worth it. It wasn't the Viceroy's palace that made it worth the hassle to the young princess; while she loved Clovis dearly, and was quite fond of the Viceroy's Palace, it wasn't for him that she took the trouble to fly between Are- no, Japan, and the Britannian mainland.

Brushing her teeth, her mind wandered to the people she came to see, and more specifically, a certain amethyst-eyed individual who had been haunting some of her more….adult dreams ever since puberty came along. Not that she'd be voicing _that_ aloud anytime soon.

Stepping into the shower, Euphemia reflected on what she had to report; the slow leeching of funds to back Zero Pact was going well, after four years of slow transfers; the hundreds of thousands of pounds that were drained every year were categorized under Royal expenses, and no one had yet to ask what she used that money on; not when Guinevere regularly blew through that amount of money on a weekly basis anyways.

As for recruitment…well, thankfully, she wasn't actively on recruitment and influence-gathering. That was why Cornelia was in the military after all. And self-defense training…she could hold and aim a gun well enough, and was a fair enough shot. Not that she'd be found carrying a gun on her person any time soon. Just imagining herself, two sub-machine guns in hand and yelling death threats and snappy catchphrases made her snort and almost caused her to slip and trip, were it not for the towel rack nearby. Breathing out in relief, the pinkette princess focused back on washing soap suds off of her body.

Shutting off her the shower, Euphemia gave her body the once over. A bit more curvy than the last time she was in Japan for sure, she was certainly gaining curves that would make Marianne the Flash proud (what else it would do to Marianne, my dear readers, is best left unsaid). "Maybe this time I can finally catch Lulu's eyes?" wondered the pink-haired princess aloud as she toweled herself off and began to don her disguise.

* * *

"Kaguya-sama, are you ready to go?"

"Hai," responded the small Japanese girl, heir to the Sumeragi fortune, member of the Kyoto House, and above all else, in her mind, at any rate, future wife of Lelouch vi Britannia and member of Zero Pact. Slowly, the girl rose from her seated position, and nodding the two guards that kept watch over her, began to follow Sayoko out the door. "How have you been, Sayoko-san? Are you and the others well?" asked the young preteen in her usual upbeat tone.

"Well enough, my lady. The others are, as always, anxious to see you. Most notably Nunnally. You are, after all, the closest of friends," replied the supermaid as she led the girl to an unassuming black government vehicle. It was true, after all. Being the only two girls in the Kururugi shrine for the better part of a year had caused friendship to blossom between the two quickly, and Nunnally had served as Kaguya's guiding light during the Invasion of Japan. No matter how many tears she had shed and how desperately she had wanted to just give up at one point, Nunnally just grabbed hold of her hand tighter and led her forward. The day that they had been forced to separate at the gates of Ashford Academy so that Kaguya could go with Kirihara had been one of Kaguya's saddest. She could clearly recall Lelouch's words at the time, the young boy had been angry, terribly angry at the time. His eyes had glimmered and shone as though they were flames.

_That day…the day we swore a pact to defend each other and to stop what happened to Japan from ever happening again…Lelouch gained my eternal admiration, loyalty...and my heart._

Her small crush on him back at the Kururugi Shrine had been swept away entirely, only to be replaced with a glowing admiration and faith in his oath to defend them all. It was only later, much later, that she realized what her affection had been morphed into. She doubted she would have agreed to go with Kirihara, Sayoko's and Kirihara's words be damned.

* * *

Suzaku Kururugi impatiently paced in front of the thick metal door to the meeting room. Reaching for his father's pocket watch, he growled in irritation at the tardiness of his friends. _9 o'clock they say, it's already 9:10 and not one them's here yet!_, snarked the aggravated teen inside his head.

"Suzaku, calm down, you're going to wear a hole in the ground," spoke a clearly amused girl.

Turning to meet the person who spoke, he let out an annoyed huff. "You're both late."

Coming to a stop in front of him after having walked down the stairs leading to the Ashford Student Council Room were some of his closest friends. Friends or not, they took a great joy in aggravating him. Not that he didn't respond in kind.

"I know, but we were held up by Shirley and Rivalz, they wanted to know where Nunnally and I were going. We had to make a show of sneaking out of school, then sneaking back in once we were sure they were gone," said Lelouch. "You have no idea how snoopy Shirley can get."

Snorting, Suzaku broke in. "Oh yes I do, remember the time we tried to sneak out to go and clean out some nobles? Shirley caught us, refused to let us pass, and only after trying to get us to stop for an hour did she give in and let us pass, but on the condition we take her with us to keep us out of trouble."

Lelouch broke out into a slight snicker at that memory. Lelouch had decided to drive the motorcycle that time to avoid the inevitable awkwardness, much to Suzaku's consternation, meaning that Shirley had ended up hugging his torso to death while he drove, and Suzaku got stuck in the side car. She had been a stammering mess for the rest of the week.

"Anyways, how are you Nunnally?" asked Suzaku, snapping Lelouch from his thoughts. To Lelouch's left stood his sister, eyes mischievous at the same memory; Lelouch had told her what had happened that day at dinner. "Oh, I'm fine Suzaku. Just eager to get this meeting over with and spend some time with Euphie and Kaguya, since we haven't seen them in a while."

Euphemia spent most of her time back in Britannia and Kaguya was with the rest of the Kyoto Group; amongst the six of them, it was Milly, Nunnally, Suzaku, and Lelouch who saw each other every day by virtue of all attending Ashford.

"Ah, there you are, my Prince and Princess, good day to you all," said a voice from behind. Turning to meet the man who spoke, the group came face to face with the remainder of their group. Leading Euphemia behind him was Jeremiah, with Villeta, Milly, Sayoko, and Kaguya behind them as well.

Breaking from the group, Kaguya and Euphemia dashed forward to crush Lelouch in a hug. Already knowing that this would come after 5+ years of the same thing happening every single time, Lelouch said in an almost unnoticeable monotone, "Hello to you as well, Euphie, Kaguya. How have you been." Lelouch's eyebrow gained a slight tick mark when Milly crashed into the group hug as well.

"Milly…is there a particular reason you're hugging me right now as well?"

"Since when do I need an excuse to hug you, Lulu?" shot back Milly, before making a sad face. "Unless you're telling me that you don't want me to hug you? Do you hate me that much now?"

Villetta was giving him an evil smirk behind Milly's back all the while Sayoko gave her usual gentle smile. Lelouch gave the mental equivalent of a facepalm, cursing the two womenw ho had started this entire mess in the first plae, before composing himself and responding in his usual tone, trying to channel his inner compassion, knowing full well that Milly would make his life hell otherwise. "Of course not, I was just surprised. However, aren't there others you should be greeting?"

The three girls let go of Lelouch quickly at his words, and Euphemia and Kaguya ran off to exchange hugs and greetings with Suzaku and Nunnally. Letting loose a silent sigh at the antics of his friends, Lelouch turned to face the metal wall that had six pads jutting out. Despite how he may act, he was truly happy to see his friend/sibling again.

Lelouch returned his attention back to the pads. Any intruder that failed to trigger the door open within ten seconds of placing their hands on the pads would trigger the mounted machine gun hidden in an alcove immediately above the base of the stairs. The doors would only identify the six friends, as well as the three adults.

Turning to face Suzaku, who was muttering about consorts and luck, and the rest of the group, he broke into the eager conversation between the four reunited girls. "Now that we're all here, we should get down to business. The door, if you will?" Coming forward, the six teenagers all lined up in front of the door and placed their palms on the pads. A slight ding was heard, and the six-inch think steel door began to slowly rise.

Inside was a fairly small room with 12 chairs surrounding a round table, with a large monitor on the wall facing the door. To the left wall were a bunch of screens, some showing what the security cameras at Ashford Academy were currently seeing. Beneath the screens was a control panel and a pair of chairs. On the right wall, there was a large hatch made of steel. A mounted machine gun hung from the ceiling at every corner, all on standby.

Taking their seats inside the secret meeting room, Suzaku let out a chuckle. "I always get a laugh at the idea of this secret meeting room-slash-panic room being hidden beneath Ashford. How did you get this done again, Milly?"

Milly responded with a sly smile and a little shrug of her shoulders as she took her own seat. "Oh, it's simple. When the Ashford Foundation's being backed by Clovis la Britannia and Cornelia li Britannia, they're pretty quick to prioritize the wishes of the friend of the lost vi Britannia siblings. That, and it doesn't hurt that I'm secretly the shadow president of the Ashford Foundation either," finished Milly with a grin, to the amusement of everybody else. Madam President indeed, not even finishing high school would stop Milly from getting everyone to call her by her favorite title.

Once everyone was seated, Lelouch began to speak. "This is the 31st meeting of the Zero Pact; I'd like for Euphemia to begin her report." Having all the attention shifted at her, Euphemia shifted a bit uncomfortably before starting. "The seeping of funds for the Zero Pact continues for nearly the fifth year in a row and no one's thought to question it so far, as you said they wouldn't Lulu. As Cornelia's liaison, I'll now begin my report on Cornelia's behalf."

Taking a deep breath, the pink haired princess continued. "Currently, she holds the position of General and has command of her own division under the helm of Chief General Darlton. She has the loyalty of the majority of her troops and usually serves as the field general when Darlton decides to give her responsibility for a battle. My sister is currently stationed in what will soon come to be known as Area 19, Arabia, and crushing pro-Middle Eastern Federation resistance. She's told me that currently military objectives are to subdue the rest of the MEF and then drive on Egypt and the Suez, to break the EU's ability to resupply their troops in the rest of Africa."

Nodding Lelouch was about to indicate for Kaguya to follow, but was stopped by the main screen flickering to life. Clovis la Britannia's face popped up with a bashful grin. "Sorry I'm late, I had to lose Bartley. Listen, Lelouch, I've got important information for all of you. Remember Code R?"

How could he not? When Schneizel had approached Clovis shortly after he had taken the role of Viceroy, he hadn't been expecting for Schneizel to ask him to cooperate jointly with him in funding and providing a location for the Code R project. Overseen by Bartley Aspirus as director of the project, its goals were to study the being known as C.C. and derive scientific results to aid in all aspects of Britannian R&D. That this involved painful experiments that usually tested to see if there were any limits to C.C.'s regenerative properties was better left unsaid.

What stuck to Lelouch most prominently was the fact that C.C. was essentially immortal. Everything Bartley had tried so far couldn't kill her. And beyond even that, was the fact that Clovis recognized her. He recalled seeing her in Aries Villa long ago when he was only 7 years old, just after Lelouch had been born. That this woman, who displayed such supernatural powers, knew his mother had left Lelouch with a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach; her death _had_ to be connected to her somehow.

"-Well, currently, it's being transported from the Tokyo settlement to the secret facility under Narita, under the guise of being an experimental poison gas. It'll be departing from the facility at noon today. This is probably your best chance to steal away C.C. from Britannia's grasp. Any ideas what you'll be doing, Lelouch?"

Lelouch sat in deep thought. If it was being escorted, then it would be at its weakest just outside of Tokyo, far enough to be out of the immediate intervention of Clovis' military goons, but close enough to one of Kaguya's properties that she could easily be hidden away. Thinking of a rather simple plan quickly, Lelouch nodded and gave his affirmative.

"We'll be ambushing the vehicle right outside of Old Tokyo in Glasgows. We'll take C.C. and keep her in a cell for interrogation in one of Kaguya's properties at a later time. Thanks for the head's up, Clovis. I'll tell you if I need any additional intervention on your behalf."

Nodding at his brother's words, Clovis got in one last sentence before he cut the connection. "Be careful, all of you."

Nunnally chuckled at Clovis' words. "This is going to be an ambush, when they won't be expecting it. How hard could it possibly be with Suzaku and I in knightmares?"

* * *

Three hours later found the Zero Pact, minus Kaguya, Euphemia, and Milly, waiting in position and ready the ambush the truck transporting C.C. when it came passing by within the next hour. Clovis had sent a picture of the truck ahead to Lelouch, and the young exiled prince was confident in waiting. Currently positioned on either side of the road, the six waited and talked in a subdued manner as they waited for the truck to come. All six were hidden behind trees and boulders; it had been chosen by Lelouch as the ambush point due to the ease in which they could hid the six Glasgows.

Of the six, Nunnally and Suzaku were tied for top pilot; they had both scored a 94% on the knightmare simulator that Clovis had smuggled to them several years ago, qualifying them as Aces, the rare one in a million soldier in Britannia's armies. While Suzaku was a more direct pilot with insane amounts of battle instinct, Nunnally's strong points were her agility in a Knightmare frame; as far as they knew, she had the fastest speed on record in a Glasgow, actually approaching her own mother's record speed in the Ganymede, which had yet to be broken nearly two decades later.

It was when Lelouch's cell phone went off to hear Clovis ranting about how a pack of Japanese had just hijacked C.C.'s transport in the middle of Tokyo that Lelouch felt a sinking feeling in his stomach begin. Doing a slight double take, he pulled his ear back from the phone, looking at in disbelief. The rebels couldn't _really_ be that suicidal. Could they? Was this Clovis' idea of a bad joke? They'd have their asses crushed by the military so quickly it'd be a miracle if they made it to the outskirts of the Tokyo settlement.

To make matters worse, Clovis continued to worsen his day by telling him that Bartley had decided to deploy the military, and that his hands were tied so long as he was trying to remain inconspicuous. Sighing in annoyance at having his work made ten times harder, Lelouch responded. "I'll be right there; tell your soldiers that if they see a black government SUV, to not interfere, that you called in a division of specialists to ensure that the poison gas gets recovered safely." Putting on a headset, Lelouch prepared to tell his team the bad news.

Ten minutes later, the six were on their way back to the abandoned factory to drop off their Glasgows.

Twenty minutes later found Jeremiah racing a black SUV down towards Shinjuku ghetto. The terrorists had last been spotted heading into the ghetto, and the Britannian forces were in hot pursuit. That is, until they heard Jeremiah smashing the horn while heading down the road at 120+ kilometers per hour. Scrambling to let Clovis' spec ops team through, the Britannian military forces, knightmares and all, parted like the Red Sea as the SUV sped onwards towards the abandoned subway lines, on Clovis' reconnaissance.

Grasping the seat tightly for dear life, Nunnally vowed to never let Jeremiah drive again. Looking over to the excited Villetta that was urging Jeremiah onwards faster, Nunnally silently bemoaned the complete lack of sanity of her knights, knowing that Sayoko couldn't drive without causing issues with the Britannian government, and not exactly confident in her supermaid ninja's ability to drive following speed limits either.

Lelouch wasn't fairing much better; his face was pale and his hand had subconsciously reached for Sayoko's hand in silent reassurance as he eyed Jeremiah with silent terror, who was driving _one-armed, _acting as though he were driving down a neighborhood road. "Worried, Lelouch-sama?" asked Sayoko, turning to her friend and liege with a kind smile. "You shouldn't be; Jeremiah knows what he's doing and he would never risk your safety." Looking slightly less pale, Lelouch nodded slowly, but being as intelligent as he was, he knew full well what would happen if Jeremiah hit a pot hole. "Besides, if your worry is about what is coming on ahead" continued Sayoko, as she stroked his hand with her own, "Don't worry. If you were to die, who would I follow? You wouldn't want your poor Sayoko-chan to be lost without purpose, would you, Lelouch-sama? I will never let you or Nunnally-sama die." Blushing at the reminder of what he had used to call Sayoko when he was younger, and before the 'incident', Lelouch nodded at her. "It's not me or anybody else I'm worried for right now; I've just got a gut feeling that something bad will happen."

As the team of six pulled up in front of the abandoned tunnels, the Britannian soldiers standing in front of the tunnels stood at attention. All six got up and began to exit the SUV, decked out fully in Britannian military uniform to disguise their ages and in Suzaku's and Sayoko's cases, nationality. It was a good thing Lelouch had the foresight to ask Clovis for the uniforms several years ago, as they would now prove their usefulness. Turning towards the commanding officer of the troops, Lelouch ordered them to stand guard in front of the tunnel, and that their team would be handling the securing of the poison gas. Seeing as how they had an executive order to not impede the team of six, the officer obliged.

Taking a good look around, Lelouch let loose a silent sigh. He hated seeing what Britannia had done to Japan, but Shinjuku was by far one of the worst-hit areas. Shinjuku was, in a word, a mess. Clovis had never even bothered to try and fix the area, so rubble and chunks of cement were scattered like snow all over the area. It had no running water, and electricity was spotty at best. The residents of Shinjuku lived almost exclusively on illegal activities, since the area had literally nothing to produce and no industrial output to speak of. It made Lelouch's fist clench, at the audacity of Britannia to declare that they had improved Japan's economic situation. Strictly speaking, they had; GDP output was solidly what it had been before the war, but the vast majority of that increase in GDP was due to the extraction of sakuradite. Meanwhile, Tokyo, and other affected cities such as Nagoya and Osaka had been left to fester in ruin as Britannia focused on rebuilding only the interiors, solely in the interest of the swarm of Britannian migrants that had come to Japan after its fall.

The conquest of Japan seven years ago had triggered one of the largest migrations of people in human history. Britannians came en masse to the island nation in search of sakuradite deposits, almost in a modern-day version of the California Gold Rush. Economists had coined the term 'The Great Sakuradite Rush' due to the sheer size of population movement. At the time of the start of migration, a cubit foot of sakuradite could tide a household over for a decade. It had all started when sakuradite had first been discovered in Japan. Seen it not only as a potential source of energy but also as a possible ecological threat, the Japanese government had been weary to allow mining to freely occur, especially in the Mt. Fuji area. As a result, sakuradite prices, already high, had gone through the roof due to scarcity and led in part to Britannia's annexation of Japan.

After Japan was conquered, Britannia had no such qualms about limiting the mining of sakuradite. As a result, Britannians flocked to Japan in droves once the bombs stopped dropping. For the next five years, an estimated 15 million Britannians migrated to Japan in search of striking their fortune. Much like the California Gold Rush, very few did, but the biggest difference in the two events was that the vast majority of Britannian migrants stayed due to the vast demand for a highly educated(and loyal) workforce in the government, in the processing of sakuradite, in local military establishments, and in infrastructure. As a result, the presence of Britannians in Japan went from being solely occupiers, to being a dominant minority. At the end of the war, there were an estimated 120 million Japanese alive. In the year 2017 a.t.b., the population of Japan stood at 140 million, meaning that roughly 1 in 10 people in Japan were Britannian citizens.

Shaking his head from the stray ramblings that had filled his head, Lelouch began to head inside into the abandoned tunnels. He was resigned to spending several hours combing the desolate, dark subways and ordered the group to spread out. Sighing, he walked off in a random direction, weapon at ready.

Luck seemed to be favoring them when Suzaku called the others over after only thirty minutes; he had heard an explosion. After finding Suzaku and regrouping, the six began to head in the direction of the explosion. Sprinting briskly, the group ran until they could hear the crackling of fire. Using the limited stealth training that Sayoko had given them, the group approached with weapons raised at the ready, expecting a terrorist to jump out as they turned the corner and saw a truck on fire. The truck, or what remained of the truck, was a ruin. A part of the metal base remained, and the container remained more or less whole. Fire slowly crackled slowly, and it was obvious that whatever terrorists had been here before, they were dead now. Slowly, albeit a bit more relaxed, they approached. When a head of green hair and bored golden eyes peeked out over the side of the truck, it was all Lelouch could do to not sigh in relief. It appeared the mission would be easier than expected; they wouldn't have to carry out a seemingly dead body.

Lelouch began stepping forward, trying to take the initiative. "We have been sent to ensure your escape from Code R. So I ask you; will you come with us? " asked Lelouch, trying to go about securing C.C. the easiest way possible; by her own free will. He was soon aggravated when C.C. didn't even bother to respond to him. She was now silently looking at the fire the explosion had caused. Suzaku soon got fed up as well. "Listen, we're here to take you AWAY from Project R. Come with us, if you wish to be free!"

At his words, C.C.'s attention shifted back towards the group. "…Don't we all wish to be free. Freedom does not come free." Now within reach of C.C., Lelouch offered his hand to her.

"Then allow us to pay the price for your freedom." C.C. stared at his outstretched hand for all of a second before ignoring it and beginning to walk down the tunnel.

Lelouch at this point was fuming at the indifference of the immortal girl and ready to knock her out and drag her back, until she interrupted his thoughts. "…Then let us be on our way, Lelouch vi Britannia. I will hold you to those words at a later time."

Shocked, shaken, and annoyed all at once, Lelouch grumbled before pulling out a radio and telling the group to see if they could find any traces of the terrorists around here while he set some misdirection loose. Turning on the radio, he began to prep their escape. "This is spec ops K1, we have found the container, I repeat, we have found the container. We have also found the container to be leaking trace amounts of hazardous materials, so retreat from the tunnels ASAP. I repeat, retreat from the tunnels until the engineering corps can be dispatched to attempt to stop the leakage." Turning off the radio, Lelouch gave a slight chuckle at how easy it had been so far. Signaling the group back to the center, he began to walk back in the direction of the exit, the others following behind.

The trek back was a quiet one, partly in the unease they felt being in a battlefield once more. It wasn't something they had been particularly eager to experience once more, but thankfully, there were no corpses on the ground this time. Halfway to the exit, Lelouch pulled C.C. to the side after calling the group to a stop and handed her a sack which contained a military uniform and a wig. "Put this on; it'll let us walk past the soldiers without issue." Taking the bag, C.C. gave the exiled prince a deadpan look as he looked on expectantly. Realizing with a start what the issue was, Lelouch turned his back on the immortal to allow her to change in peace.

A few minutes later found the group once more walking towards the exit, albeit this time more stiffly and with weapons in hand, like the soldiers they were pretending to be. It was when a group of ten soldiers appeared before them only a few more turns away from the exit that the group paused and caused Lelouch to raise an eyebrow, not that they could see it, in surprise. He stepped forward, slightly in front of the rest of the group. "Did I not give the order to evacuate the tunnels? Give me your ranks; you shall be repo-"

"I don't believe that will be the case here," replied the man in charge of the soldiers. "You see, we have been sent here by General Bartley to intercept you. We're here for the girl and told to leave no witnesses. Thanks for all but announcing where you were, hotshot. You made our job that much easier." Lelouch gave a slight twitch at that, causing the leading soldier to smirk cruelly. "We know what Code R is; we're the personal escort guard of the specimen, C.C."

Lelouch raised his free hand to the back of his neck and made as if he were rubbing it; in reality, he was making the signal to attack in 3 seconds. "I see…it looks like we have no choice. C.C., come forward."

Just as C.C. was about to take a step, the five members of Lelouch's team opened fire, instantly dropping four of the ten men. Lelouch, using his handgun, managed to down one more man and injure another while Sayoko managed to take down two more with kunai. However, they weren't quick enough to completely take down all of the men. The remaining two men standing opened fire, but were too late, as the six had already taken cover, as well as C.C. who had been pulled along by Jeremiah. The two began randomly firing over the heads of the group as they alternated trying to shoot them down. Cursing, knowing that the gunshots would undoubtedly attract attention towards them. Lelouch, having gotten a good look at the weapon in the hands of the soldiers, signaled when to rise and shoot, having predicted when they would run out of ammo. A few seconds later found the corpses of the two soldiers joining their comrades.

Rising from behind his cover, Lelouch tentatively began to take a step forward, testing for any reinforcements. Satisfied, he signaled to the others to follow him and began to walk towards the exit once more. Taking a step over the rapidly cooling corpses and pools of blood, Lelouch was about to continue forward and finish their escape, when the wounded man's eyes opened slowly. Aiming shakily at the back of Lelouch's head, he pulled the trigger. Sayoko threw a kunai at the man's head, but she was too late to stop the bullet from flying.

_Take this…you bastard. Meet me in hell._

Suzaku, having seen what was going to occur, tried to push Lelouch out of the way rather than incapacitate the man. Lelouch escaped just fine, falling to the ground with a thud without a wound to show for it. Turning around to thank his friend and savior, he could only stare in growing horror as a pool of blood quickly gathered underneath the body of his best friend.

"SUZAKU!"

Rushing forward, he knelt in the blood as his friend quickly began to lose consciousness. Lelouch could only stare with growing horror, unable to do anything but to grab onto Suzaku as though it would bring him back. Jeremiah, seeing that the prince was too stunned to act, carefully hefted Suzaku into his arms and began to march briskly. Rising from his kneeling position, Lelouch and the others began to follow.

* * *

_Suzaku…has to live. He MUST live. I won't let him die, _vowed the Prince to himself. Having more or less snapped out of his shock, the group plus C.C. were at the mouth of the entrance. They could see the light and to Lelouch, it was a symbol of their from. That was, until their path was blocked by a silvery-haired man in a white lab coat and glasses, and a woman with purple hair in an orange army uniform stepping out from the side. Raising his gun, Lelouch asked, "Why are you here? You've got five seconds to answer me."

Raising his hands in the air in a mocking fashion, the man spoke. "I'm Lloyd Asplund; I'm, well, technically a member of the engineer corps, as is my assistant here."

Lelouch sighed in relief; they were safe. These were the guys who would be sent to waste time as they escaped under the cover of retreating from the tunnels. But that plan was shot; they needed to find Suzaku help, right now. The group lowered their guns at Lelouch's signal and began to walk forward towards the exit. "Never mind that, listen, we need medical attention for my comrade here, he's been shot."

"Oh, I can see that. I could probably fix him up as well. But that isn't exactly my priority, no? I've got a poison gas bomb to disable and a knightmare frame to build, so, goodbye, good luck with your friend~" spoke Lloyd in a cheery voice. His assistant smacked Lloyd on the arm before shooting the group an apologetic look as the duo began to step forward. Lelouch lowered his head, head racing to think of how to save his friend. There was no way they could make it to Clovis' G1, and even then, if Suzaku's face was seen…it'd be all over.

Just as they were about step past him, Lelouch raised his arm and grabbed Lloyd by the shoulder. "Wait. You're building a knightmare frame? My friend's an ace; he scores a 94% on the knightmare sims, you can't let him die. He's too useful to you as a test subject."

Nunnally, about to protest her brother referring to Suzaku as a guinea pig, was held back by Villetta who shook her head no. Nunnally bit her lip, until she realized where her brother was going with this. Unnoticed by anybody, her lips broke out into a smile; Suzaku would be alright now. She just knew it.

"Oho? Cecile, change of plans. We're going to fix my new devicer!" spoke Lloyd boisterously as he did a 180 and walked back towards the Camelot's mobile lab.

"But Lloyd! What about the gas bomb? If we don't do anything, it'll blow and kill everybody in Shinjuku!" shouted his indignant assistant.

"Do not worry," broke in Lelouch. "I have some training in engineering and was able to seal the leak; I called for the engineering corps to check it over to make sure it is sealed properly before calling for the transportation squad to take it away."

Looking uncertain, Cecile nodded slowly before leading the group back to the Camelot mobile lab, where Lloyd wastes no time in getting Cecile to start tending to Suzaku's wounds.

The rest of the group was outside in the corridor, all seated folding chairs, waiting to hear how Suzaku was. Lloyd stood leaning against the wall, in an animated, albeit slightly one-sided discussion with Lelouch about his newest invention, the VARIS rifle.

"You're telling me you managed to essentially create a compact railgun with minimal recoil that runs entirely on sakuradite?" asked Lelouch with a raised eyebrow beneath his helmet.

"Indeed I have, my Lancelot will only have the best of toys! Although...Cecile did help," finished Lloyd lamely as though he were adding it on as an afterthought. Lloyd had had it smacked into him enough times by Cecile that she did most of the work on the VARIS rifle and to stop acting as though the Lancelot were solely his creation.

"My Lancelot will revolutionize the battlefield! It's a 7th generation knightmare frame, and unlike anything seen before; the only problem is that we had yet to find a competent devicer in all of Area 11, and none of the Knights of the Round were willing to try out an 'experimental knightmare frame'," complained Lloyd loudly as Lelouch tried to process what he was hearing and respond accordingly to keep cover while balancing his biggest priority as well.

_A seventh-generation knightmare frame? Britannia's barely in the planning stages of the sixth generation, if what Clovis told me is true. Why didn't he mention this? _wondered Lelouch.

_More importantly, how am I going to get us all out of this alive? We can't simply wander out in the same vehicle we came in; Bartley's placed a hit order on us and I'm amazed he hasn't dispatched another unit to gun us down yet...He could even label us as traitors and have the entire knightmare corps chasing us down as though we were terrorists._

__"I'm surprised I didn't see your friend's knightmare scores before, I was sure I scoured the records quite thoroughly! At last, my Lancelot shall LIVE now that I have a devicer!" rambled on Lloyd

_Think! What could let us slip away unnoticed? We could cause a distraction, cause chaos and slip away. Yes, but how could we do that...Ah. I see.  
_

__"Oh? Yoohoo, are you even still awake anymore?" asked Lloyd, leaning down uncomfortably close to Lelouch's face as though checking to see if he were sick. "You haven't been responding in a while."

Nunnally dug her elbow in his side.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I spaced out. I'm just worried about my friend; you can understand, can't you?" replied Lelouch, trying his best to lie his way through this.

"Ah, yes, well, anyways-"

"Excuse me, may I use your bathroom?" asked Lelouch, interrupting Lloyd mid-sentence before the eccentric scientist overwhelmed him. Nodding, he indicated a left, then a right, to which Lelouch nodded before calmly making his way over, and inside. Locking the door behind him, he pulled out his cellphone and dialed Clovis.

"Clovis? Listen, I can't talk much and I don't have much time. Suzaku was shot, but still alive. I'm leaving Suzaku with the engineering corps, with a man named Lloyd Asplund. I need you to make false records for Suzaku in the Britannian military right now, otherwise our cover will be blown. Be sure to give Suzaku a knightmare score of 94%."

Taking a breath and praying his brother would understand, he continued. "Listen; we're in a situation where we can't really escape, not without drawing the attention of the Britannian army units. We…may be forced to make you come out of this the loser in the media, to come out alive."

"That's fine Lelouch, as long as you all escape safely. But, what exactly are you going to do?" asked Clovis, genuinely confused as to how he could 'lose' the skirmish at Shinjuku.

"I'm going to wipe out the 1st Britannian Knightmare Corps"

* * *

AN: And done. I decided to break this chapter into two; it would simply getting way too long. That, and by the time I figure out how to properly do a battle scene involving knightmares, another week will have passed, so I'd rather get this out now.

I also had to do a lot of thinking about exactly how I wanted this story to run; truth be told, I had the prologue more or less envisioned in my head when I started writing it, but not how I wanted it to end, or how I would get there, but now that I'm matching up with the R1 timeline, I took the time to plot out most major events.

While I'm not going to spoil a thing in an AN, I figured out exactly what I'm planning, although it took me nearly 3000 words just to plot it all in short phrases, and I also even managed to figure out how to cover a plot hole I left myself in the prologue; not going to say exactly what it is, with any luck, you'll think it was all part of my Master Plan :P

Next up, have you guys seen the Code Geass Stage 3.25 bonus clip found in the boxed set as a bonus? I just heard of it today, while browsing through the Code Geass wiki. Well, first off, a forewarning. It is pure fanservice. It takes place in the Ashford Academy onsen(don't ask me why this exists), and seems to be student council-exclusive and the clip revolves around showing off as much of the female student council's bodies as possible. Now, I'm not going to say _exactly_ what goes on in there, buuuuutttt…It more or less straights right out that the girls there are convinced Lelouch is in love with his sister, and then goes on further to more or less imply Milly as openly bi(we already knew this), Shirley as a shy bi, and Kallen as a closet bi, and we already knew Nina is at the very minimum, into women, if not men as well.

You guys have NO idea how much easier this makes it for me to spin a harem…as far as I know, its canon, and it would really throw the tasteful aspect of it out of the water, but not so for my story. I'll stick to trying to make it as tasteful as possible. But seriously; life was just made so much easier.

Finally, thanks for reading, while we had a bit of action in this chapter, the true, mechanical gorefest that is a knightmare battle will be coming with the next update; while yes, I am doing Shinjuku, just like the anime, things haven't changed, at least, not enough that the rebels wouldn't act exactly as they did in canon, give or take a few minor things. The Japanese would still be more or less at the mercy of Britannia, and Clovis can't really change it all the much without going to the levels Euphemia did to make it happen. There ARE a few differences that are yet to be revealed in how Clovis has administered Japan, other than the obvious.

Don't worry, I believe in the butterfly effect; things will be changing fairly drastically soon enough.

Oh, and to my reviewers; your reviews REALLY helped me push this out the door today, instead of putting it off while I fleshed out my plans some more. Thanks again, and drop a review if you like what you read!

AN2 as of 11/11/2012 at 2PM: I went back to flesh out what I had written. One of my reviewers commented that it seemed a bit rushed, and looking back; _he was right!_

The quality slipped a bit, so I went back to try and fix what I could. It's worth re-reading, IMO, I feel like I characterized everything better and added a bit more depth to the setting; but then again, no mother thinks their child is ugly. Sorry for the lowered quality, but it should be fine now.


	6. A Note To My Readers

A Note To My Readers:

You may have noticed that this story hasn't been updated in quite a while. There are a variety of reasons for this. I feel like the biggest one(after a lack of free time) is that I simply felt overwhelmed. The Code Geass world is large and complex and I felt it was beyond me to deliver what I had in mind with my current experience as a writer.

At first, I had planned to reboot this story, but no, I decided that when I DO reboot this, I will do it justice. So for now, I am placing this story on a freeze. I have started a new Naruto fic which I feel will serve better to whet my abilities and give me more experience as a writer than a Code Geass fic would(in which one error can have truly massive consequences, as I found out). Feel free to check it out if Naruto fanfiction is something you like.

However, I want to again apologize to those who were interested in this story; I will return one day, and it will receive the proper treatment it deserves.


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